Politics Talk

How Indian voting machines and the paper slip work: a short explainer

Since a few people asked me after the polling thread, here is how voting works in India, from someone who has voted in many elections and also worked a polling day as a nurse volunteer.

We use electronic voting machines (EVMs). You press a button next to the candidate name and symbol. Next to it is the VVPAT, a small printer behind glass. It shows a paper slip with your choice for a few seconds and then the slip drops into a sealed box. You can see it but cannot take it.

The paper slips can be counted to check the machine. There is always debate about how many should be checked, and some parties have doubts about EVMs. But for a country this big, the machines made counting much faster than the old paper ballot days.

The symbol matters a lot, because not everyone can read. That is why every party has a simple picture.