HYDERABAD: For the first time, Telangana State Election Commission (TSEC) will introduce Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in as many as 35 polling stations in KMC, which will go to polls on Sunday. The VVPAT will enable the voters to see a printout bearing the name and symbol of the candidate he has voted and verify it. This will help to identify any malfunction or fraud in the electronic voting machines (EVM).
It may be recalled that all opposition parties in Telangana barring MIM, which got a drubbing in Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) polls at the hands of TRS, had blamed that ruling TRS and officials have tampered with the EVMs. The VVPAT is a method of providing feedback to voters in a ballotless voting system. The VVPAT system consists of a Status Display Unit (SDU) and a printer. VVPAT is an equipment linked to the EVM and will generate slips like receipts. Once the voter presses the button of his or her choice, a slip will be generated to indicate that the vote has been cast. The printout will be displayed behind a glass case for few seconds and the voter will be able to confirm if the vote has been cast for the candidate of his or her choice. After few seconds, the slip will automatically fall into a drop box which is a sealed chamber.
In case the voter complains that the vote has not been cast in favour of the candidate of his choice, he or she can register a complaint with the presiding officer, who in the presence of others in the booth, will cast three trial votes to verify the allegation. If the complaint is proved genuine, the EVM will be sealed and seized immediately. If the complaint is found to be false, action can be initiated against the complainant.
A fresh paper roll will be installed in the VVPAT printer having serial numbers and names of candidates and symbols allotted to them before the start of polling.
A test printout of serial numbers and names and symbols would be checked with the ballot paper.