Voting machines to have candidate’s photograph

Team Udayavani, Jan 23, 2018, 12:10 PM IST

Bengaluru: With an aim to avoid any misconduct by candidates during the polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to use photographs of the candidates on the electronic voting machines (EVM) during the upcoming Assembly elections of Karnataka.

It will be the first Legislative Assembly polls in Karnataka where this will be implemented. It will not only help the voters recognise the candidates without any confusions from another candidates of similar names but it will also help to raise awareness and confidence among the voters after the ruling Congress party has aired than the voting machines are  prone to be tampered.

Each EVM will have the names of candidates, their black-and-white photographs and the symbol of the party they represent. Each photograph will be 2.5 cm in size. The same system was used recently in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections.  Similar Electronic Voting Machines with photographs will be used in Rajasthan polls.

Candidates’ names will be classified under three categories- Alphabetically starting from national parties, followed by regional parties and then independent parties.

The 2018 Assembly election will see the introduction of voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines, which will allow voters to verify the votes they have cast. The votes will be tallied on the machines with the VVPAT printouts selected randomly under the Assembly constituency by the Election Commission of India.