CH News
Engineer Rahul Mehta, trained at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, and hailing from New Jersey, Conducted press meet at the press club on Saturday.
He has developed a machine that raises questions about the integrity of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs).
The machine reveals a concerning flaw in the voting process: while a voter can verify their chosen symbol in the VVPAT, consecutive votes to different symbols are not accurately recorded. Instead, only the first vote is printed, followed by a light bulb flashing for 7 seconds, indicating the chosen symbol to subsequent voters. Mehta suggests that this programming flaw could be exploited to manipulate election results, ensuring victory for the preferred candidate by diverting votes from others.
However, Mehta clarifies that he is not alleging widespread manipulation in EVM-VVPAT systems used by the Election Commission of India. Rather, he highlights the possibility of such manipulation, particularly in constituencies where the ruling party faces tight competition.
Critics of EVMs advocate for various solutions, including a demand for 100% counting and tallying of VVPAT slips with EVM figures. Mehta’s invention underscores the vulnerability of both EVMs and VVPATs to manipulation, raising doubts about their reliability in ensuring fair elections.
Some proponents suggest a return to traditional ballot papers, arguing that they offer greater transparency and security. They point to instances where ballot paper fraud was caught on camera, highlighting the potential shortcomings of EVM-VVPAT systems.
