These Mark-3 EVMs are manufactured by government-owned companies—Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
Preparations for the Karnataka Elections, which will be held on May 12, 2018, are in full swing. The state is poised to see approximately 4.96 crore voters voting this year.
The authorities have ensured that this time, the elections will be more inclusive than the previous ones. They want the voters to feel appreciated and to experience minimum trouble as they cast their votes. To that end, they have made arrangements to be disabled-friendly and have also included a provision as per which 450 booths will be managed only by women. You can read more about these arrangements here.
In fact, these elections have seen twice the number of people identifying as transgenders than the 2013 elections! Here’s all you need to know about it.
Along with a more inclusive nature, the Karnataka Elections will also be piloting tamper-proof Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
These Mark-3 EVMs are manufactured by government-owned companies—Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).
Here are the characteristics of the Mark-3 EVMs that promise to ensure a tamper-proof election in Karnataka this summer.
1. The first programme is the final programme.
The election commission has claimed that no tampering can be done to the machines by reprogramming them. The chip used in these Mark-3 EVMs can neither be reprogrammed nor read.
2. Detection of tampering
In case someone tries to tamper with the EVMs physically—like open it, take off even a screw or alter any of its components—the machine will automatically shut itself down.
This will ensure that no one touches it without authority and even if they do, their plans will fail.
3. No networking
The poll panel has claimed that these machines cannot be accessed through any kind of network, including the internet. This protects the Mark-3 EVMs from remote tampering as well as ensures that there will be no virus or bug directed to the machine through these networks.
4. They come with more capacity
Mark 2 EVMs had the capacity to take four ballot units with 64 candidates. The Mark-3 EVMs, on the other hand, has six times the capacity of the previous EVMs and can accommodate 24 ballot units with 384 candidates!
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The decision comes after several allegations by opposition parties about the tampering of EVMs during elections. Karnataka 2018 Elections were chosen as a trial run for these machines because their new generation has been manufactured by ECIL and BEL in Bengaluru.
Mark-3 EVMs are to be used in 1800 polling stations in the assembly constituencies of RR Nagar, Chamarajpet, Chickpet, Shivajinagar, Shantinagar, Gandhi Nagar and Rajaji Nagar, in Bengaluru. Additionally, 2700 ballot units, 2250 control units and 2350 Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail systems will also be used in these constituencies.
(Edited by Gayatri Mishra)
Featured image for representational purposes only. Source.
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