THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: ‘Democracy’ could be a big word for a small kid like Manisha Mukundesh. However, on Sunday, this first standard student did something which she could not even have thought about at her age.The little girl pressed the blue button against the symbol of a jug on the voting machine and cheerfully gazed at the red light that blinked with a long beep. Manisha was just one among the kiddies who, along with the elders, cast their votes on the electronic voting machine at the polling station at Raja Kesavadas NSS Higher Secondary School, Sasthamangalam.The mock poll was conducted as part of the new Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trial (VVPAT) being introduced by the Election Commission of India. The polling was held at 36 polling stations in the Vattiyoorkavu constituency to test VVPAT and to familiarise the voters with the new system. The polling was held from 7 am to 5 pm.Though she hardly knew what she did, Manisha was a happy girl. ‘’I found a blue button and saw the jug and I pressed it. It was interesting anyway,’’ said Manisha.In VVPAT, details regarding the vote could be immediately verified after casting the vote in an electronic voting machine. A paper ballot carrying the candidate’s name, symbol and serial number pops out of a printer attached next to the ballot unit. Two types of voting systems were used for the trial at various polling stations. An open system where the voter can take out the paper ballot out of the printer and insert in the ballot box kept adjacent to the whole electronic unit and the closed system, where the paper ballot would be visible to the voter for a few seconds through a transparent window which will then get deposited in the system itself. The elder voters seemed impressed by the new system. However, some did not conceal their apprehensions either. “Comparing the two systems, the closed one better ensures the secrecy of vote than the other. Anyone who may misuse the facility can take out the printed ballot outside the polling station and the suspense of the whole election process could be shattered,’’ said Sasthamangalam Gopan, ward councillor.Other voters even doubted the accuracy of the new system. According to Prakash G R, an engineer by profession, there is no assurance that the system could be fully loyal to the voter. “Electronic machines may go wrong at times. Therefore, it cannot be assured that the version we see in the printed ballot and the registered data on the memory of the system are the same,” he said.The decision regarding the implementation of VVPAT will be confirmed only after getting the feedback out of this mock poll and considering the legality and secrecy of the electoral procedures. Election Commission officials said thatresponse from political parties, media and the public will be considered in the implementation of the new system.
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