Supreme Court asks Election Commission if it can increase counting of VVPAT slips 

A VVPAT slip-vending machine near an EVM.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Monday, indicated that the Election Commission should increase the percentage of votes randomly verified against the voter-verifiable paper audit trail. It has also told the poll panel to file an affidavit to list its stand on increasing the proportion of EVM votes to be verified with paper trail by March 28.

The top court also said that the election body should be open to suggestions and no institution including the judiciary should insulate itself from suggestions or improvements.

The 2019 Lok Sabha election would be the first where all voting machines would be attached with VVPAT machine. However, the number of samples to be verified has not yet been specified.

The EC announced that VVPATs will be used in all polling stations along with EVMs, while announcing the schedule of this summer’s general election.

Although many opposition parties claim that EVMs are susceptible to tampering and wanted the government to go back to use of paper ballots while demanding at least 50 per cent votes to be verified.

Earlier in 2013, the top court had also held that VVPAT was an indispensable requirement of free and fair elections.

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