VVPAT machines pique curiosity in Canacona
CANACONA: After intense political drama and hectic campaigning before the polls, the southernmost constituency of Canacona witnessed peaceful voting on Saturday.
Voting was brisk since morning in most of the polling booths, while lengthy queues were seen at many of the 56 polling stations of Canacona constituency.
The presence of the additional Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) placed besides the EVM’S confused many voters, as there was no clear awareness of new systems introduced at the polling stations to confirm the candidate they had voted for.
On seeing the symbol, name of candidate appearing and disappearing in the VVPAT, some anxious voters began inquiring if their choice of candidate could be made known to others.
Conifa Fernandes, a second time voter in the assembly polls, said, “Once I pressed the button on the EVM, I saw a slip of paper being printed in the machine which was placed besides the EVM. The symbol and name of candidate I had voted for appeared and disappeared. I was not sure if my vote would be secret or not.”
She had to be persuaded that no one could know her votes and that the new VVPAT system was a method to provide feedback to voters.
“It's a completely independent verification system. The VVPAT is a printer-like machine attached to every EVM that allows voters to verify that their vote has been cast correctly,” said an election officer.
