Today In Supreme Court, Hearing On 100% VVPAT Paper Slip Match

Today, the Supreme Court will hear petitions regarding the verification of votes cast on Electronic Voting Machines through Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail slips. This comes just before the start of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

VVPAT allows voters to confirm if their vote was recorded accurately for their chosen candidate. It generates a paper slip, stored securely, which can be checked if there's a dispute. The petitions filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms and activist Arun Kumar Agarwal, demand cross-verification of every vote due to concerns about the EVM system.

Currently, VVPAT slips from five randomly-selected EVMs per constituency are physically verified. Agarwal's petition calls for counting all VVPAT slips, while ADR seeks directions for the Election Commission to ensure voters can verify that their vote is accurately recorded.

The issue was raised in 2009 by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who approached the Delhi High Court after his party's electoral defeat. The court rejected his plea, but Swamy appealed to the Supreme Court. In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled that a "paper trail" is crucial for transparent elections.

In response to the petitions, the Election Commission cited challenges in manpower and infrastructure, arguing that verifying all votes with VVPAT would delay the counting process.

The VVPAT system aims to enhance transparency and restore voter confidence in the electoral process. It's considered crucial for ensuring the accuracy of the voting system in democratic elections. However, implementing full VVPAT verification poses logistical challenges, as acknowledged by the Election Commission.

Today's hearing will be crucial in determining the extent of VVPAT verification in the upcoming elections and balancing the need for transparency with the practical challenges faced by election authorities.