What safety measures to ensure integrity of EVM votes?

During the hearing, the Court requested the ECI for an explanation on the working of VVPATs and other measures taken to ensure the integrity of votes cast during elections.

"This is an electoral process and there needs to be sanctity to it and let there be no doubt about it," Justice Datta observed.

Among other aspects, the Court voiced concern over whether there are sufficient measures to ensure that Symbol Loading Units (SLUs) in EVMs are not tampered with.

"The SLUs are not stored to ensure that there is no tampering, etc.? Of course, very difficult ... SLU is done from the computers ... laptop, etc. is used by returning officer.. The software by ECI has a lock in mechanism," the Court observed.

"Yes, it is a secured software," the ECI assured, in response.

"When you do loading, are candidates allowed to do a test check?" the Court proceeded to ask.

"Yes, a mock poll is conducted before machines are put in the strong room.. Candidates are allowed to pick up random machines and poll to check," the ECI replied.

The ECI official further disclosed the following aspects of the polling and checking process, in response to the Court's queries:

It takes about fifteen seconds to cast one vote, meaning that about four votes at most can be polled every minute. However, due to human intervention, less than four votes are usually cast per minute. The ECI has not come across any irregular case where more than four votes have been cast per minute.
It is not possible for one person to cast a vote twice.
There are inbuilt corrections to ensure that there are no mismatches between votes registered (Form 17A) and votes recorded (Form 17C).
It is not possible to have bar codes for counting votes for the present round of polls (Lok Sabha polls 2024). No proposal for the introduction of such bar codes is being examined at present.
There is no question of "hanging slip" in VVPAT machines. Unless the VVPAT slips and falls, the vote does not get registered. There is a sensor to ensure that VVPAT slip falls. A beep noise follows after the slip falls and the vote gets registered only upon this happening.
Each and every vote that is registered is time-stamped.

Notably, the Court asked data on votes registered under Form 17A could be tallied with votes polled at the election booths, and not just at the stage of recording information under Form 17C.

"What if we say, 17A register should be matched with the votes polled in a booth, to ensure that 17A entries with respect to non-polling after one is made a registered voter is not made an academic exercise?" the Court remarked.

The ECI counsel pointed out that it may violate voter secrecy if the 17A register is shared with election candidates at the time of polling.

"On the next day of polling, there is a process of scrutiny of 17A and it can be done in presence of everybody and it has at times led to re-poll," the ECI official added.

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