Explainer: How is the Indian EVM different from its US cousins?
As the debate on the alleged vulnerability of EVMs to tinkering rages on, here's a look at the device in India vis a vis its US counterparts
The Congress’ shocking defeat in the Haryana Assembly polls and subsequent allegations of EVM tampering have revived the debate on the alleged susceptibility of the voting device to tinkering. While similar concerns have been raised in the US which is now voting to choose its next president, here’s a comparative look at the devices in both the democracies which are in the midst of an intense season of polls.
What is an EVM?
An Electronic Voting Machine or EVM uses digital means to facilitate voting and counting of ballots. The EVM mode of voting is considered a faster and hassle-free alternative to paper ballots.
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What are the e-voting systems used in India and the US?
INDIA: India, which introduced EVMs to its ballots in a phased manner since the late 1990s, has completely switched to electronic voting.
AMERICA:
US states use a combination of paper ballots, mail-in voting and e-voting systems in the polls.
E-voting again is conducted through various ways including the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) System, Optical Scan Voting (or optical scan paper ballot system), Ballot Marking Devices, and the Punch Card Ballot.
What are the EVMs used in the US?
The types of EVMs used by the US vary from state to state and even from county to county.
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The most prominent electronic voting systems used in the US are the Ballot Marking Devices, and the DRE while the Optical Scan Voting machines are still preferred in some states.
Ballot Marking Devices: These devices allow the voter to select his or her preferred candidate from the available options and after that print the choice on a sheet of paper.
A type of ballot marking device. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
This paper can be submitted to the Optical Scanner to be tabulated. These devices usually have a touch screen or a controller to select one’s candidate of choice. Some machines also have voice instructions and braille for disabled voters. This method is considered the safest as it leaves a paper trail.
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DRE EVMs: These machines are completely digital in nature. Like the Ballot Marking Devices, they too have a screen with touch, buttons or dial features. However not all DRE systems have a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine. This means, the votes are directly recorded into the computer’s memory. The votes are usually stored in the DRE via a memory cartridge, diskette or smart card. Many of the DREs (like their Indian cousin) are accompanied by VVPAT printers.
A voting machine assembled by Dominion Voting Systems, one of the biggest manufacturers of EVMs in the US. Photo: @dominionvoting/X
At least 27 of the 50 US states use the DRE type of EVMs to vote. Of the 27, 15 states use paper audit trails. The DRE mode of voting was introduced after a review in the voting method in 2000 following a dispute in the Presidential polls.
Optical Scan Voting machines: These machines resemble the standardised test scoring machines where a voter can fill in a bubble or a rectangle on the ballot paper against the preferred candidate’s name. An optical scanner reads the marked paper ballots and tallies the results.
Some states have Hybrid Voting Systems which are machines which combine two voting machines in a single unit. A hybrid optical scan and ballot marking device, hybrid optical scan and DREs and hybrid ballot marking devices and tabulators are some examples of such hybrid EVMs.
What kind of EVM does India use?
Also called the ECI-EVM, the Indian EVM comes under the DRE category of voting machine. India is currently using the M3 model of the EVM and VVPAT.
It is made up of three parts: the control unit, the balloting unit and the VVPAT.
The Indian EVM is a standalone unit which runs on power packs and batteries and is not connected to any external source. An ECI-EVM can record upto 2,000 votes but has been capped at 1,500 votes per unit.
The EC says the Indian EVM is more efficient and accurate than paper ballots as it eliminates the possibility of invalid votes due to unclear or improperly marked (stamped) paper ballots, reduces counting time and ensures that a vote is registered for a single candidate only.
How does the voting happen on Indian EVMs?
When a voter presses the blue button on the balloting unit against the serial number, name and poll symbol of the preferred candidate, the LED light against the candidate’s button glows red. After that the VVPAT prints a slip carrying the serial number, name and symbol of the chosen candidate. This slip is visible for 7 seconds and is then cut and stored in a sealed drop box of the VVPAT. A loud beep from the control unit confirms that the vote has been registered.
Can EVMs be hacked?
Concerns have been raised on the alleged vulnerabilities of EVMs even though authorities, both in India and US, have been asserting that these devices are hack-proof.
Despite allegations and conspiracy theories in both countries, there is no credible evidence to prove that EVMs can be hacked to alter votes.
‘Risks’ flagged in US
In a 2020 report, a team of 10 cybersecurity experts specialising in voting systems and elections, told NBC News that in 2019, they discovered that at least 35 voting systems in 10 states including swing states were connected to the internet.
The experts said that even though EVMs are not designed to be online, “the larger voting systems in many states end up there, putting the voting process at risk.”
The team led by Kevin Skoglund, a senior technical advisor at the election security advocacy group National Election Defence Coalition, found that some of the systems have been online for a year.
The states include nine countries in Wisconsin, four in Michigan and seven in Florida.
Skoglund and his team made the discovery after combing the internet to check if the central computers that programme voting machines and run the poll process at the precinct level were online.
How robust are firewalls, security features?
Three prominent EVM producing companies, Election Systems & Software, Dominion Voting Systems and Hart InterCivic also told NBC News that they install modems in some of their tabulators and scanners to relay the “unofficial” poll results to the public in a faster manner. The catch is these modems connect to cell phone networks which are connected to the internet.
While Election Systems & Software asserts that its computers are firewall-protected and are not on the “public internet,” Skoglund and Andrew Appel, a computer science professor at Princeton say that these firewalls can be breached by hackers.
In an expert report prepared for a lawsuit related to Georgia’s election processes, J Alex Halderman, a professor at the University of Michigan, flagged “multiple severe security flaws” in the touch screens of voting machines used in Georgia in the 2020 Presidential polls. These machines were manufactured by Dominion Voting Systems.
Halderman said that the “vulnerability” in the machines can allow someone to “install malicious software, either with temporary physical access or remotely from election management systems” to “alter voters’ votes while subverting all the procedural protections practiced by the State.”
Federal cybersecurity officials, however, have confirmed that no such security vulnerabilities have been exploited in the 2020 polls.
Experts say the most concerning aspect of these machines is the lack of an audit system.
Can Indian EVMs be tinkered with?
Even though the Opposition in India has been alleging that the EVMs can be and have been tampered with, the EC has staunchly stood by its version that the machine is tamper-proof.
The Opposition has been demanding that the voting process be re-designed to be free of software and hardware and to allow a voter to physically cast his or her VVPAT slip in the ballot box.
The Supreme Court, however, in a verdict on April 26 upheld the EVM polling system while refusing for 100 per cent cross verification of votes through VVPAT.
From Mayawati in Uttar Pradesh to Harish Rawat in Uttarakhand to Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi, while several parties have alleged EVM tampering over the years, the allegation has gained momentum after the Congress surprise rout in the recent Haryana Assembly polls. Alleging discrepancies in EVM machines during the counting on votes on October 8, the party has told the EC that in most of the devices the batteries were charged at 99 per cent on counting day.
The exit polls had given the verdict in favour of the Congress.
The EC, however, has dismissed the allegation stating that EVMs are “100 per cent foolproof”.
Why EC vouches for its EVM?
The EC claims that the EVMs designed by its technical experts committee in collaboration with Bharat Electronics Limited and Electronics Corporation of India are battery-run standalone machines installed at polling stations, which work like calculators and directly record votes.
The EC asserts that there is no way the voting numbers in the EVM unit can be tinkered with as it is not connected to any wire or wireless external source and thus cannot be remotely accessed nor hacked into.
The poll panel says the machines are designed to switch to ‘safety mode’ if any tampering is detected and will be rendered inoperable hence after.
These machines, run by batteries, can neither be connected to the internet nor have connectivity features like Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to make them vulnerable to hacking.
Experts say that what makes an Indian EVM more foolproof is its one-time programmable or masked microchip, which cannot be overwritten or reprogrammed.
They say, in comparison, many countries use generic chips, which are reprogrammed after every poll and are thus susceptible to tampering.