Election FAQs: What happens on counting day? All you need to know

The results for Assembly polls in five key states — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur will be declared on March 10 after months of rigorous campaigning by political parties. Here's a look at what happens before and on the day of counting.

Are the EVMs, VVPATs secure? 

Candidates and their representatives can keep a round the clock watch outside the strong rooms, which are under camera surveillance and guarded by security personnel, till the counting day. Each strong room has only one entry point and is secured by a double lock, with the District Election Officer and Deputy District Election Officer each having a key to one lock. The Election Commission (EC) monitors the transportation and storing of the EVMs through its GPS-based 'EVM Monitoring System'.

What happens on counting day?

Strong rooms are opened in the presence of the candidates or their representatives, returning officers and EC Special Observers on the day of the counting of votes. The process is filmed. The Control Units (CU) of the EVMs are brought to the counting tables under continuous CCTV coverage. The unique ID number of each CU and the signed seal are verified and shown to the polling agent of the candidates before taking out. At the press of a button on the CU, the votes secured by each candidate are displayed against his name on the EVM. The numbers are recorded on the results sheet. 

What are VVPATs for?

VVPATs were introduced after the controversy that EVMs could be manipulated. The charge was made by the BJP during the UPA regime. VVPAT stands for Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail. The machine helps to keep a paper audit trail of the votes cast. This machine prints a paper slip of the candidate a person votes for with the name, serial number and symbol of the party. The machine is meant to be used as a verification for the voter to make sure that the person’s vote has indeed been taken into account for the right candidate. After the printed slip is displayed to the voter, it falls into a sealed ballot compartment within the machine. 

Will all paper votes on all VVPATs be counted and matched against the electronic votes?

No. The EC had so far matched the paper votes and electronic votes on one randomly selected EVM-VVPAT set per assembly segment. Opposition parties demand that it be done on 50 per cent of EVM-VVPATs. The Supreme Court has ordered the EC to do it on five EVM-VVPATTs per assembly segment. 

What happens in case of discrepancy between voters on the paper slips and the EVM?

In case of a mismatch, the paper slips of the particular polling station are recounted. If the discrepancy persists, paper slips prevail over the EVM vote count. Some opposition parties have demanded that if such a discrepancy occurs, the EC should order the counting of paper slips of all VVPATs in that constituency.

When does a recount happen?

Before the result of the elections are formally declared, a candidate is allowed to demand a recount of the votes. According to Rule 63 of the Conduct of Election Rules, after the completion of the counting, the Returning Officer shall record in the result sheet in Form 20 the total number of votes polled and announce the same. 

In case an application for a recount is received, the Returning Officer has the authority to decide either to allow the application in whole or in part or even reject it. If there are changes found after the recount, the result sheet in Form 20 has to be amended. In 2020, during the Bihar Assembly elections, Grand Alliance leader Tejashwi Yadav had alleged "discrepancies" in the counting of votes "under pressure of chief minister Nitish Kumar and the BJP".

However, Chief Electoral Officer H R Srinivas had dismissed any irregularity in the declaration of the results, asserting all rules and guidelines of the Election Commission were strictly followed in the counting of postal ballots.

Also read: Election Results 2022: UP, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur; What to expect?