Today in Politics: SC verdict on pleas seeking 100% verification of VVPAT slips

As 89 Lok Sabha seats across 13 states vote in the second phase of the parliamentary elections on Friday, one of the biggest political stories of the day could come from the Supreme Court.

A Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta is scheduled to pronounce its verdict on a batch of pleas seeking the complete cross-verification of votes cast using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails, or VVPATs.

The VVPAT machine is attached to the ballot unit of the EVM and provides visual verification for a voter’s vote by printing a slip of paper with the voter’s choice on it. This is later used to verify votes cast in five randomly selected polling booths per Assembly segment. The Opposition has been demanding that all VVPAT slips be cross-checked with the EVM votes.

In context: In recent years, questions have been raised time and again on the integrity of EVMs and the demand to count 100% VVPAT slips is because those in favour of it believe it will make the voting process more transparent.

In 2019, when TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu moved the Supreme Court demanding that 50% randomised VVPAT slips be counted — after these proceedings, the court increased the number of polling booths in which the votes would be verified from one to five — the EC had argued it would delay results by five to six days.

In December, the Opposition INDIA alliance, which includes the Congress, the CPI(M), the CPI, the Trinamool Congress, the DMK, and the Samajwadi Party, passed a resolution demanding 100% verification of VVPAT slips. They argue that ensuring everyone believes in the fairness of the electoral process outweighs the concerns of a delay in declaring the results.

Recommended reading: Why VVPAT was brought