Electronic Voting Machines: The True Story

By Dr. Alok Shukla

Are EVMs a threat to democracy?
Is it possible to hack EVMs?
Can votes be stolen from EVMs?
Can EVMs be made to favour a political party?
Why do developed countries not use EVMs?
Do EVMs reduce electoral malpractices?
Based on hard fact, substantiated record, and the direct narratives of those involved in the developmental process of EVMs, this one-of-a-kind book answers all our nagging questions with clarity and logic. It also traces how political parties shifted their stance on EVMs as their electoral fortunes changed. Most usefully, it provides lay persons with authentic yet simple technical explanations about how EVMs work.

• Language: English
• Publisher: One Point Six Technologies Pvt Ltd
• Release date: Nov 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9789352011223

Dr. Alok Shukla

Dr Alok Shukla is a surgeon and serving IAS officer. He was educated at Pt. J.N.M. Medical College, Raipur. Following a distinguished academic career, he joined the IAS, serving as Collector at Shivpuri and Sagar, in Madhya Pradesh, and Secretary in the departments of Health, Education, Revenue, Disaster Management and Food. His contributions to elementary education and public health have been highly acclaimed. In recognition of his work in computerising paddy procurement and PDS in Chhattisgarh, he received the Prime Minister's Award for Excellence in Administration (2010), the highest award given to bureaucrats in India.Between the years 2009-2014, Alok served as Deputy Election Commissioner, seeing at first hand two national and several state elections. With his deep understanding of electoral systems, he served as an International Observer at elections in Egypt, Venezuela and Australia, and led a mission to develop electoral systems in the Maldives.Alok's first book, Ambush, Tales Of The Ballot (Platinum Press 2018), was published to widespread appreciation. It brought to public attention the real life stories behind the holding of elections, and the unsung heroes who conduct and secure them.

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INTRODUCTION

‘Are EVMs tamper-proof or can they be manipulated?’ I must have answered this question hundreds of times in the last few years. A fallout of having worked first as Chief Electoral Officer of Chhattisgarh, and then as Deputy Election Commissioner of India, is having to answer impromptu questions regarding the possibility of malpractices and wrongdoings in elections. Answering queries about EVMs is the most challenging because they invariably lead to rather long and boring technical descriptions which few people understand. Mostly people get bored quickly and drift away. Despite being ill understood, or possibly because of it, the question about tampering with EVMs is debated continuously in all public forums during election time. It has become customary for political parties to blame EVMs for their defeat. This book attempts to present the facts relating to EVMs in India in an easy-to-understand manner, so the reader can go beyond this blame game and draw conclusions based on hard facts.

The blame game is not a new phenomenon. Almost all political parties have blamed their electoral defeats on EVMs at some point or the other. Yet EVMs have survived the test of time and have gained the faith of the Indian public. Electronic Voting Machines were used for the first time in 50 polling stations on 19th May 1982, in the 70-Parur Assembly constituency of Kerala, as an experimental measure. Subsequently the Election Commission used EVMs in 10 other Assembly constituencies in different States in 1982-83. EVMs were used in these elections on the basis of executive instructions issued by ECI, without any statutory provisions for their use in elections. In 1984, the Supreme Court of India decided that EVMs could not be used in elections unless a specific provision was made in the law. Hence, EVMs were not used in elections for a long time after this. The law was finally amended by Parliament in December 1988, and a new section 61A was inserted in the Representation of the People Act 1951, empowering the Election Commission to use voting machines. The amended provision came into force w.e.f. 15th March 1989. The Supreme Court upheld the validity of Section 61A though its judgment dated 23-04-2001 (2002 UJ (1) 387). The ECI gradually increased the use of EVMs in elections. They are now universally used in all elections to the Lok Sabha and State Vidhan Sabhas, conducted by the ECI in India, as well as for many local body elections conducted by State Election Commissions.

Use of EVMs has simplified the complex electoral process in India. In the days of paper ballots, there were numerous complaints about booth capturing. The people of India will not easily forget the images of policemen stamping ballot papers in Meham. Counting of votes would take several days. I remember, as a District Collector in Shivpuri, when I conducted my first Lok Sabha election, we had several counting teams working in shifts and yet it took over 48 hours to count all the votes and declare the result. Paper ballots were often found to be doubtfully marked, for several candidates. The Returning Officer was required to subjectively decide about such doubtful votes, and on several occasions the losing candidate was dissatisfied about the outcome.

With the use of EVMs, booth capturing is no longer possible because not more than 240 votes can be cast into the EVM in one hour. The problem of multiple marking and non-marking of ballots has also been solved. Counting has become simple and results are known within 2-3 hours of the beginning of counting. It is not an overstatement to say that the EVM is the wonder machine that revolutionized the electoral processes in India. EVMs used in India are fully indigenous and have strong technical security features. These features have been described in details in this book. Suffice it to say here that these security features have made EVMs completely tamper-proof. In addition to technical security, there are several administrative safeguards which ensure the reliability of EVMs.

Early doubters of EVMs were, in fact, people who wanted to sell their own version of EVMs to the ECI. In 1980, Mohammad Haneefa of Tamil Nadu, approached the Commission with his own invention. When the Commission decided to procure EVMs form Public Sector Companies, Mohammad Haneefa filed a writ petition before the Madras High Court, which was dismissed by the Court. On 1st April 2005, Krishna Institute of Engineering and Technology, Gaziabad, demonstrated a prototype of a fingerprint-based EVM. However, this was not found to be useful. On 28th January 2006, S Balasubramanian wrote to the Commission to say he had developed a hi-tech voting machine. Also in January 2006, Ashish Anand wrote to the Commission saying he had developed several post-EVM electoral enhancements. On 20th April 2006, Anand told the Commission he had developed a system of remote voting and that he was willing to dedicate his patent to ECIL and BEL, for domestic purposes.

Soon after the Lok Sabha Election of 2009, there was an upsurge in questions raised about EVMs. Jan Chaitanya Vedika, an Andhra Pradesh based NGO, toured several districts of the state, giving public demonstrations on fake, look-alike EVMs, and challenging the ECI-EVMs. Several persons, including Omesh Saigal, ex-Chief Secretary of Delhi, Kirit Somaiya and Vijay Mukhi of the BJP, Satinath Choudhary, V V Rao, Hariprasad of Net India, G K Mani President PMK, Devasahayam retired IAS officer, and Vijayendra Gupta, made allegations about the technical vulnerability and possible tampering of EVMs. In response, the Commission made an open offer that any person was free to walk into the Commission Headquarters and demonstrate tampering of the ECI EVMs. Some of the above mentioned persons did make some demonstrations, but on laptops and EVM-like machines developed by them. None could demonstrate any tampering of the ECI EVMs. These allegations became shriller and louder just before the General Elections in 2014. GVL Narsimha Rao of the BJP wrote a book entitled, Democracy at Risk, in which he advocated that EVMs should not be used in elections. It is pertinent to note that the Foreword to the book was written by the BJP patriarch, LK Adwani.

The anti-EVM chorus subsided for a short time after the BJP win in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. However, it soon resurfaced when the political parties in the opposition suffered defeat in several elections. Leaders of several political parties, including the Indian National Congress, TMC, SP, BSP and AAP, made allegations against EVMs. The Aam Admi Party gave a demonstration in the Delhi Legislative Assembly on an ECI look-alike EVM in 2017, claiming that EVMs can be hacked. This demonstration was widely televised. Once again, the Election Commission threw an open challenge to demonstrate tampering of their EVMs. No one accepted the challenge. Such unsubstantiated, vague and empty allegations continue to be been made against EVMs.

Most political parties have spoken against EVMs when they have suffered massive electoral defeats. These include national parties like the Congress, BJP and BSP, as well as state parties like the TDP, TRS etc. It is interesting that the same parties forget their opposition to EVMs when they win an election. The BJP was the most vocal critic of EVMs before the 2014 General Elections. However, after its massive win in the polls, it forgot its history of opposing EVMs. EVM bashing has become a convenient method of explaining electoral defeats to their critics by political parties. These parties would do well to look inwards for the real reasons and stop blaming the EVMs. Let us also not forget that permission to use EVMs was given by Parliament by making the necessary amendments to the law. If political parties in India really do not have faith in EVMs, they need only amend the law once again and remove the provision for using EVMs from the statute books. That it has not been done is testimony enough that the Indian political establishment understands that EVMs are tamper-proof and they make these noises only to placate their critics.

Another interesting fact to note is the hue and cry made in the foreign media regarding the opposition to Indian EVMs. David Dill of Stanford University gave a TV demonstration on a makeshift machine. There were public interviews on foreign TV channels by Rop Gonggrijp of the Netherlands. Anti-EVM seminars were held in the USA, attended by people from India as well. The response of the ECI was complete transparency and open discussion.

The Indian Judiciary has always upheld the use of EVMs in elections. The functioning of the ECI-EVMs was questioned for the first time in the Bombay High Court (Nagpur Bench) and the Karnataka High Court, in two election petitions [EP No. 29/1999and EP No. 1/2004 respectively]. Both Courts were satisfied that the ECI-EVMs were tamper-proof after a detailed examination of technical witnesses and experts. The Karnataka High Court went to the extent of observing: ‘This (ECI-EVM) invention is undoubtedly a great achievement in the electronic and computer technology and a national pride’. The Kerala High Court has also recorded in EP No.4/2001, its appreciation of the efficiency of the mechanism of the ECI-EVMs. The Madras High Court held in April 2001, in WP Nos. 3346, 3633 etc. of 2001, that: ‘There is also no question of introducing any virus or bugs for the reason that the EVMs cannot be compared to Personal Computers. The programming in computers, as suggested, has no bearing with the EVMs. The computer would have inherent limitations having connections through Internet and by their very design, they may allow the alteration of the programmes but the EVMs are independent units and the programme in EVM is entirely a different system.’ It further observed: ‘The contention of the learned counsel that the use of EVMs in Japan and United States of America proved to be a failure also will not hold any water. In India, we are not following the system prevailing in the United States of America or Japan.’

Subramanian Swamy, former Law Minister of India, filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the use of EVMs. The Supreme Court directed that a Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) be implemented in EVMs to allay any doubts about tampering. Both BEL and ECIL rose to the occasion and developed a VVPAT in consultation with the technical experts committee. The VVPAT has now been used in several elections. The fact that the vote count of EVMs does not differ from the vote count of VVPATs, has once again shown to the world that Indian EVMs are trustworthy. Electronic Voting Machines are loved by the electorate in India. They are here to stay. Political parties will do well to remember that the success of democracy depends on the trust of the people in the electoral process. They should seek the causes of electoral defeats in their programmes and performance rather than blaming it on EVMs.

The story of Indian EVMs is a story of grit and hard work to achieve excellence. It is a story of honesty and integrity, moral courage, determination and success, despite enormous challenges. The EVM is not just a simple electronic gadget. It is the commitment of the Indian people to look forward into the future to find modern technological solutions, without external aid and support. It is a matter of pride that Indian men and women have designed and manufactured the most secure and trustworthy Voting Machine in the world. This is a story of Indian genius.

The first chapter of this book traces the development of voting systems in India from ancient times to the present. This chapter is not about EVMs but it sets the context in which the need for EVMs was felt by a visionary Chief Election Commissioner. Technological advances and use of EVMs have brought greater transparency and fairness to the electoral process.

Some stories have been told through fictional characters and incidents. These, I call fables. The specific details of the incidents narrated and the characters are products of my imagination, but the processes described are essentially true and based on research from available literature. There are also true accounts of many incidents told to me by the persons involved in them. These, I have called anecdotes. The evolution of the electoral system in India and its impact on our democracy has been traced through these fables and anecdotes. In the course of research for this book, I had innumerable discussions with persons on both sides of the EVM debate. Some, I have included in the book as interviews. The book has quotes by many persons from published media stories. I cannot vouch for the authenticity or accuracy of these stories, and have therefore included URLs of these published media stories in the references section after each chapter so that the reader can visit the concerned website and read the published story. Similarly there are quotes from websites of EVM opponents, which can also be verified from the URLs in the references section.

The quotes about ECI are either taken from the documents downloaded from ECI website or are from documents which the officers of ECI have very kindly shown to me during my research. There are of course several things which I have written from personal knowledge. These are written in the first person.

I have tried to guard against making the book too technical and difficult to understand for a person who is not an expert in electronics. The purpose is not to write a treatise on the technical aspects of EVM. The book is intended for the citizen who wants to be sure that his vote is not stolen and democracy in this country remains sacrosanct. I have, therefore, tried to simplify many technical aspects to make them easy to understand by the average person on the street. I hope this book will to useful to everyone who has an interest in Indian EVMs and will put to rest once and for all, the controversies about Indian EVMs.

1

EVOLUTION OF VOTING SYSTEMS IN INDIA

ELECTIONS IN ANCIENT INDIA

Fable: A Day in the Santhagar

It was a cold winter morning in Vaishali. Somdutt was still in bed. He had spent the evening with his friends drinking and having fun in a courtesan’s house. Somdutt was the son of the wealthiest merchant in the city and had no shortage of good-for-nothing hangers on who flocked around him at all times for free food and wine. His father had tried hard in the last year to make him change his ways, without much success. Somdutt’s wife Maitryi, was not only pretty but learned and wise. She too, had tried quite unsuccessfully to bring him to the right path. Now, one prahar of the day was gone and yet Somdutt was still in his bed, wrapped in his quilt.

Maitreyi brought him a cup of warm milk and sat down next to him. She had risen to complete her morning household chores. Dressed in fine muslin, she looked beautiful. Somdutt tried to pull her into the quilt. Maitreyi pulled back her hand and smiled sweetly at him, saying, Get up now and get ready. Don’t forget you have to go to the Santhagar today for the monthly sabha with your father.

Somdutt cursed under his breath and got up. It was the day of the monthly sabha and he, being the eldest son, had to accompany his father to the Santhagar. He neither liked nor understood the art of statecraft, yet he had to learn it because in this city republic, as heir of the Head of an important clan, it was his duty to participate in the governance of the city. Somdutt dressed in his best formal cloths and quickly went to his father’s quarters.

His father was waiting for him. Together, they went to the Santhagar, a huge wooden structure in the centre of town. The floor was made of baked mud tiles. The roof rested on 64 carved wooden pillars. Inside the Santhagar was a large hall with seating for over 700 persons. In the middle was the high chair for the Rajanya, or Head of the Republic, who was chosen by the citizens every five years. Next to him were the 9 chairs of the powerful Amatyas, who were responsible for important Departments like Finance, Defence, Transport and Trade. Somdutt’s father was the Minister for Trade.

When they reached the Santhagar, it was already almost full. Somdutt’s father sat in the Amatya’s chair and Somdutt stood at attention behind him. Soon a horn sounded and the Rajanya walked in with his entourage of guards. As soon as he was seated, the Shalakagrahak called the assembly to order. The first item on the agenda was the imposition of a new tax. The Rajanya gave the floor to Somdutt’s father, who stood up and spoke in a loud and clear voice: Hear O citizens of this mighty city republic of Vaishali, our artisans are facing a big problem because the traders of Magadh are dumping their goods at a lower price. They are doing it to undercut our artisans so that our business suffers. They are being helped by the Magadha State. I propose that a tax be imposed on all goods brought from outside for sale in our city, to make our products more competitive.

The Shalakagarhak rose and said: Those in favour of the proposal raise your hands. Many people raised their hands. The motion was almost carried. Suddenly, a fat man sitting in the row behind Somdutt got up and asked to speak. He was the second wealthiest merchant in the city and had made most of his money by importing goods from Magadh. He was