5,620 ballot units, 3,936 control units and 4,266 VVPAT machines have arrived in Mysuru

Mysore/Mysuru: Elaborate preparations have started at the level of the District Administration in view of ensuing 2023 Assembly elections.

Yesterday, the Mysuru District Administration demonstrated the use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) to sensitise the voters, media and representatives of political parties about these machines used in elections.

The session was held at the Devaraj Urs Hall of the Zilla Panchayat and the basic functioning of both the control unit and ballot unit was demonstrated.

In all, 5,620 ballot units, 3,936 control units and 4,266 VVPAT machines have arrived in Mysuru and 290 machines have been set aside for training and demonstration purposes. Besides, they will also be used during training and mock sessions for polling personnel, which are expected to begin soon. These machines will be dispatched to 2,905 polling booths in 1,816 locations across the Mysuru district.

DC Dr. K.V. Rajendra said as per the instructions of the Chief Electoral Officer, the demonstration session was held to spread awareness about EVMs and VVPATs. Through VVPAT machine, voters can see the serial number, name and election symbol of the candidate they have voted for, for about seven seconds. He appealed that no eligible voter should be deprived of the right to vote.

He said that media persons would be playing an important role in providing right information to the public and the Election Commission is ready and in possession of all election machinery, equipment and materials. The DC also clarified on misinformation and allegations with regard to the reliability of the machines.

“Not only do the EVMs reduce time, energy and money, they also ensure fair elections as they are not connected to any network or radio signal. The VVPAT allows the voters to verify that their votes have been cast as intended and once a vote is cast it cannot be withdrawn if the voter later claims to have pressed on the wrong candidate. The VVPAT removes the apprehension that the machine has been tampered with, and the paper trail also helps in maintaining accountability later,” he informed.

The Deputy Commissioner said similar demonstrations will be organised at many places in the district to spread awareness among the voters on their functioning in view of the polls. The voters can participate in the demonstrations and also be part of the mock polling. The demo would be beneficial to the first-time voters and young voters, he added.

Dr. Rajendra said that the process was on to identify the elderly, physically challenged and bed-ridden citizens and special arrangements will be made to enable them to vote on the lines of postal ballots. They will be identified based on the voters list and officers are visiting each booth to make a list of such people, he added.