Election FAQs | How are votes counted?

A Returning Officer is responsible for conducting polls in a constituency and the vote-counting responsibility also falls on him or her

With polls approaching in two states - Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat - let's look at how votes are counted in Indian elections.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has long been using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to register votes. Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) were added to EVMs in 2013 for greater transparency.

Who counts the votes in an election?

A Returning Officer (RO) is responsible for conducting elections in a constituency and the responsibility of counting votes also falls on him or her. The RO is typically an official with the government or a local authority nominated by the ECI for each constituency in consultation with the state government.

How are votes counted?

The RO takes a call on the location where votes will be counted for a particular constituency, while the date and time of vote counting are fixed by the ECI. Vote counting is typically carried out under the direct supervision of the RO. However, in certain situations when counting takes place at multiple locations for a constituency, counting may also take place under the supervision of an Assistant Returning Officer (ARO). The counting of votes for a constituency also typically takes place within a single hall. In each round of counting, votes from 14 EVMs are counted.

If there is a need for it, the number of counting halls and the number of tables where counting takes place may be increased with prior permission from the ECI.

What is the counting process?

The RO, who supervises the polls in a constituency, appoints counting supervisors through a three-stage randomisation process. The candidates, along with their counting agents and election agents, are also present in the counting hall.

The counting process begins with the tallying of Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballots and Postal Ballots (PBs) under the direct supervision of the RO.

Once the PB counting has begun, the counting of votes on EVMs can begin within 30 minutes.

At the end of each round of counting, the results from the tallying of votes from the 14 EVMs are announced.

How are VVPAT slips counted?

As per a 2019 Supreme Court order, the ECI is required to match EVM tallies with VVPAT numbers in five randomly selected polling stations in each constituency. This verification is typically carried out inside a secure VVPAT Counting Booth inside the counting hall and requires the direct supervision of the RO or the ARO.

The final result for a constituency is announced only after the VVPAT verification process has been completed.

What happens if there is a discrepancy?

In case there is a discrepancy between the EVM and VVPAT tallies, the count established by the printed paper slips will overrule the EVM count.