On 27 Sept 2013, in an important decision Supreme Court mandates the use of NotA i.e. "None Of The Above" button on EVMs [Electonic Voting Machines] and Ballot Papers. On 13 Oct 2013, The ECI ordered the Chief Electoral Officers of all States and UTs to provide for NotA option in electronic voting machines (EVMs) and ballot papers. NotA votes will also be counted and shown in final results.
Moreover, ECI announced that NotA will necessarily be used in upcoming Legislative Assembly elections in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhatisgarh and Mizoram from 11 nov to 4 dec 2013. NotA will be there on EVMs at the very end or in last row on the ballot papers, after the names of all the candidates.
At present, only names of 16 candidates can be accumulated on the EVMs, so in the case of full 16 candidate listing, an extra EVM is to be allowed in order to provide NotA option. It is also necessary to mention that if NotA votes outnumbered all the candidates contesting elections then in that case, candidate with most no. of votes will be declared as winner. So, in other words, it is not a Right To Reject. Let us know what NotA is all about.
Moreover, ECI announced that NotA will necessarily be used in upcoming Legislative Assembly elections in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhatisgarh and Mizoram from 11 nov to 4 dec 2013. NotA will be there on EVMs at the very end or in last row on the ballot papers, after the names of all the candidates.
What is NOTA ?
NotA stands for 'None Of The Above". NOTA is also known as "against all" or a "scratch" vote, is a ballot option in some jurisdictions or organizations, designed to allow the voter to indicate disapproval of all of the candidates in a voting system. It is based on the principle that consent requires the ability to withhold consent in an election, just as they can by voting NO on ballot questions. Elections send ambiguous signals to the political system, particularly when interpreting the meaning of various “nonvotes” e.g., abstention, ballot spoiling, and roll-off etc. While a NOTA option may allow voters to better signal discontent. Read MoreRoad to NOTA
1. In 2009, Election Commission of India asked Supreme Court to offer the voter a "None of the above" option at the EVM and ballot papers. It was something that the government had generally opposed whether it is BJP or INC.
2. It is considered as one of the important steps, in order to eradicate corruption from the system. From now onwards, every political party will look out for the good character candidates in their respective parties.
3. Before this, there was facility of withdrawing from vote, by filling Form 49-O which refers to dissatisfaction of voter with the candidate of that area. This Form filling was also known as Null-Voting. The form 49-O allows disapproval at the polling booth, which gives you a right to not to vote.
4. This button don't provide voters with "Right To Reject" but still it is very useful weapon where Nota Votes will be counted separately.
NULL VOTING :
FORM 49-O STUDY :
History of NOTA | Countries List
- 1. NotA is new to people of India, but it was already there in number of countries including Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, France, Finland, Greece, Spain, Sweden, etc. Recently, Russia joined the list in 2006.
- 2. It is believed that NotA was first time used in 1976, California, USA, during Election of Municipal Advisory Council in Isla Vista. In 2010, Derek Jackson from the Landless Peasant party in UK also promised people for providing NotA option in Ballot and got publicity for it.
- 3. There is also a Political Party named after NotA [None Of The Above] formed in 2010. It is very much famous on facebook. Interestingly, the party won 1 seat in 2012, National Assembly of Serbia.
- 4. It was also applicable in Pakistan for sometime, but Pakistani Election Commission withdrawn it.
What is VVPAT ?
VVPAT [Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail] is next big thing, will be available soon for Indian voters. VVPAT is very necessary in order to arrest election frauds and to ensure verification of choice of candidates by the voter. On 8 Oct 2013, the Supreme Court of India has directed the ECI to implement the VVPAT in a phased manner on an all India basis.The VVPAT is a verification system which enables voters to ascertain whether their votes were cast correctly or not.How VVPAT Works ?
VVPAT systems usually consist of a thermal printer attached to a EVMs with a spool of ballots enclosed within the machine. Each voter is to inspect his or her paper ballot to verify it matches the electronic record before casting the ballot. These paper records can also be used for a recount.- 1. When a voter casts his or her vote using the EVM, a ballot slip containing the serial number, name of the candidate and poll symbol will be printed thereby allowing the voter to verify whether his vote was recorded correctly or not.
- 2. This ballot slip will be visible to the voter for about 5 seconds behind a ballot slip viewing window.
- 3. After this, the slip will get cut and will fall into a compartment.
History of VVPAT
In 2006, as per Help America Vote Act [HAVA], many jurisdictions in the USA have used federal funds intended to help modernize their voting systems by purchasing newer Direct Recording Electronic [DRE[ voting machines. With security concerns mounting over purely electronic election results, 37 states have chosen to require physical copies of every ballot cast on an electronic system. The requirement for physical copies of ballots cast is usually met by a voting machine vendor’s implementation of a VVPAT system.
In India, the judgment was delivered in a Public Interest Litigation [PIL] filed by Dr. Subramanian Swamy (Dr. Subramanian Swamy v. Election Commission of India, SLP (c) 13735/2012) seeking implementation of VVPAT to arrest election frauds and to ensure verification of choice of candidates by the voter.
Pilot Project Report on VVPAT :
Pilot Project Report on VVPAT :
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