Presidential Election 2022: Why Do They Use Ballot Boxes Instead of EVMs?

EVMs have been used in every election since 2004. But have you ever wondered why EVMs aren’t used in the elections of the President or Vice President?

President Election 2022: The electronic voting machines used in four Lok Sabha elections and 127 assembly elections since 2004.

Also Read: How Is The President Of India Elected? (Process In 2022)

But they were not used in the election of the President and Vice President of India, members of Rajya Sabha and members of state legislative councils. Let’s reveal the truth!

What Is The Basic System of EVM?

EVMs are based on a technology in which it acts as an aggregator of votes in elections like Lok Sabha and State Assemblies. 

Voters press the button next to the name of the candidate of their choice and the one who gets the most votes is declared the winner.

How Is The Presidential Election Different?

But the election of President, Vice President, Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council is done differently. The President is elected according to the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. 

According to the proportional representation system, each elector can mark as many preferences as the number of candidates contesting by means of single transferable vote. 

Also Read: Presidential Election: Who Will Be The Next Indian President?

On the preference of the candidates, the voter marks column number 2 of the ballot paper. In front of the names of the candidates, he writes 1,2,3,4,5 according to the preference.

A Special EVM Will Require For Presidential Election

In the presidential election, ADN fielded Draupadi Murmu as a candidate. Yashwant Sinha has stood on behalf of the opposition. Officials said that EVMs have not been made to record this system of voting. 

EVMs are vote aggregators and under a proportional representation system, the machine will have to count votes on the basis of preference and this will require a completely different technology. In other words, it requires a different type of EVM.

According to the August 2021 edition of the Election Commission’s magazine ‘My Vote Matters’, EVMs have been used in four Lok Sabha and 127 assembly elections since 2004. 

According to the Election Commission website, it was first envisioned in the Election Commission in 1977 and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad was entrusted with the task of designing and developing EVMs.