Mysuru: The First Level Checking (FLC) of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) is going on at the storage room in the MCC Zonal Office, opposite  Vidyavardhaka College on Seshadri Iyer Road, since the last four to five days.

Deputy Commissioner D. Randeep (now transferred) and the officials from the District Administration are checking the EVMs to find out if they are working properly, as the elections to the State Assembly are fast approaching.

“This is the first level of checking of the EVMs and VVPATs. Only after we are fully sure that they are completely in working order and tamper-proof, will we send a report to the Election Commission of India,” said Randeep.

Once the EVMs are ready after the FLCs, the members of political parties will be asked to be present to check them and a mock poll will be conducted before them, he said.

There are 3,500 machines fitted with VVPAT and they are stored at the godown in MCC Zonal Office, out of which 40 percent are buffer stock.

Additional Deputy Commissioner T. Yogesh and other officials were present during the checking of the machines.

Role of VVPAT: The VVPAT is necessitated following complaints by various political parties regarding the tampering of voting machines. It is an adjunct machine connected to the EVM.

Once the voter casts his or her mandate by pressing a button in the EVM, the VVPAT connected to it, prints a slip containing the poll symbol and the name  of the candidate.

The slip is visible to the voter from a glass case in the VVPAT for seven seconds. After this, it is cut and dropped into the drop box in the VVPAT, and a beep is heard.

Prior to voting, the VVPAT unit is calibrated to ensure that the button pressed on the ballot unit of the EVM is reflected correctly on the printed slips by the VVPAT. The presence of the slips that correspond to voter choice on the EVM helps retain a paper trail for the votes and makes it possible for the Returning Officer to corroborate machine readings of the vote if there is a dispute over the mandate in case of a close contest or if the EVM itself has been replaced due to defects before polling.

VVPAT machines can be accessed only by Polling Officers. The units are sealed and can be opened only during the counting process by the Returning Officer during contingencies.