Document Fragment View

Matching Fragments

7. The difficulty has arisen in view of the electronic voting machine not having been operated properly by some of the voters. There is nothing on record to even remotely suggest any tampering or mala fides against any of the electoral officers.
8. The explanation furnished by the Returning Officer appears to be correct and in any event plausible. The affidavit sets out in detail the manner in which the electronic voting machines are to be operated and the probable reason for the discrepancy in the total number of votes actually registered. It will be convenient to set out paragraph 2 of the affidavit filed by respondent No. 4, the Returning Officer which speaks for itself and reads as under:

The Control Unit is also sealed. In the presence of the polling agents of the candidates it is ensured that the machine displays zero. After identification of voter by the polling agents of the candidates, indelible ink is applied on the forefinger and signature or thumb impression in the register of voters is obtained, the voter is therefore allowed to record his vote with the help of Ballot Unit. For that purpose, the Polling Officer presses the 'Ballot' button on ballot section of the Control Unit which makes the Ballot Unit ready for recording of vote by that voter. Thereafter the voter goes in that compartment for voting purpose. Since the Zilla Parishad elections and Panchayat Samiti elections were taken together, the voter was required to cast his/her vote for both. However, if voter only casts his/her vote only for Zilla Parishad or only for Panchayat Samiti, then the 'End' button is required to be pressed, otherwise the vote is not registered/recorded in the machine. If a voter does not wish to cast any vote but only presses the 'End' button, the vote is not recorded in voting machine. The identification of voter, application of ink and obtaining signature/thumb impression in the register of voters are done manually. The difference in the number of total voters and the total votes cast is due to the fact that the said voters did not cast their votes but only pressed the 'End' button. After the polling is over, all agents and representatives of the contesting candidates are shown the total number of votes cast on the electronic voting machine. The memory chip is also preserved. I, therefore, say that the difference has, therefore, arisen.

9. The explanation furnished by respondent No. 4 appears correct. The electoral officers can hardly be faulted for the discrepancy. It is pertinent to mention that the electronic voting machines have been used in the entire State and the difficulty has arisen only in *8* 916wp7853o17 two constituencies. It is also pertinent to note that the details of the electronic voting machine and the manner in which they are to be operated have been set out in large public announcements in the constituencies as well as in the polling booths.

10. Assuming that a voter made an error in operating the electronic voting machine the electoral officers cannot be held responsible for the same. Nor would there be any justification in setting aside the entire election for that reason. This would result in and be similar to a vote being invalidated just as in the conventional system involving ballot papers.

11. The reliance upon the letter dated 2.3.2007 addressed by the Secretary, State Election Commission to the Collectors does not carry the matter further. The letter sets out the difficulties in accepting certain suggestions regarding the operation of the electronic voting machine and in particular the "ENTER" button. For instance it was justifiably not considered advisable to permit any officers to be present while the voter was casting his vote as that would negate the concept of a secret ballot. Further the letter indicates that even if the "ENTER" button was covered by a black plastic cap an error in registering the vote could still arise if the same was pressed with some force."