·        Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are devices used to electronically record and count votes cast in elections.

·        EVMs were first utilized in 1982 in the Assembly constituency of Paravur in Kerala, initially deployed in 50 out of 123 booths.

·        An EVM comprises two main parts: a ‘control unit’ and a ‘balloting unit’, connected by a 5-meter cable.

·        The control unit, under the custody of an Election Commission-appointed polling officer, serves as the central processing unit or “brain” of the EVM.

·        The balloting unit is located within the voting compartment, where voters cast their votes in secret by pressing buttons corresponding to the names and symbols of their chosen candidates.

·        Activation of the balloting unit occurs only after the polling officer presses the ‘Ballot’ button on it, initiating the voting process.

VVPATs

·        Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) serves as an independent verification system for voting machines, enabling voters to confirm that their votes were cast accurately.

·        VVPAT contains the name and symbol of the candidate for whom the vote was cast.

·        When a vote is cast, the VVPAT machine, attached to the ballot unit (BU) of the EVM, prints out a slip of paper displaying the voter’s choice.

·        The printed slip remains behind glass for seven seconds, allowing the voter to verify that the vote has been recorded correctly, before it falls into a box underneath.

·        The concept of the VVPAT machine emerged in 2010, with its first usage occurring in the Noksen Assembly constituency of Nagaland in 2013.

·        Amendments to the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, in 2013 allowed for the attachment of a printer with a drop box to the EVM.

·        Starting from 2017, 100% of VVPATs began to be used in polls, and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections marked the first general election to have 100% of EVMs attached to VVPATs.

Symbol Loading Unit (SLU)

·        The Symbol Loading Unit (SLU) is utilized to load the symbols of candidates onto the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines.

·        Candidate-setting using the SLU typically occurs between five to two days before voting at a particular seat.

·        Once the symbols are loaded onto the VVPAT, the SLU becomes irrelevant to the actual voting process.

·        After symbol-loading is completed, the SLUs are handed over to the concerned district election officer for safekeeping until the day after voting.