EVMs Are Standalone Devices, Cannot Be Hacked Remotely: CEC Gyanesh Kumar
CEC Gyanesh Kumar said EVMs have no connectivity, making remote hacking impossible, and highlighted India's high voluntary turnout.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has rejected suggestions that Electronic Voting Machines are vulnerable to remote interference, stating that the devices function as standalone units with no links to electricity, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or infrared. He was delivering a keynote on election management in the world's largest democracy at the Ahmedabad Management Association during a two-day visit to Gujarat.
Kumar said the credibility of the process rests on checks that begin long before polling day. Around 12 lakh Booth Level Officers visit voters' homes to verify electoral rolls, with continuous scrutiny to include eligible citizens and remove ineligible names. Representatives of candidates take part in a mandatory one-hour mock poll before voting opens, and actual polling starts only after the machines' functioning has been confirmed.
Every vote is matched by a Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail receipt. Kumar said that across billions of counted votes, no mismatch between EVM tallies and VVPAT records has ever been found, describing the mechanism as unmatched internationally. After polling, the total votes cast are entered in Form 17C and the machines are sealed under prescribed procedure, with EVM results verified during counting in the presence of candidates' agents.
On the use of technology, the CEC said integrated digital platforms such as ECI Net are being used for faster and more effective communication across the election network, replacing the multiple applications used earlier.
Comparing India's voluntary voting system with countries where voting is compulsory, including Australia, Switzerland and Peru, Kumar cited recent assembly election turnouts. Bihar recorded 67.25%, Kerala 79.5%, Tamil Nadu 86%, Assam 86.33%, Puducherry 91.11% and West Bengal 93.7%, figures he said reflected an ecosystem that lets every voter cast a ballot freely. Turnout in the United States, he noted, is around 63%.
The session was attended by Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer Sandeep Sagale and AMA President Rajiv Gandhi. Kumar's itinerary also includes administrative visits to Sabarmati Ashram and Adalaj Stepwell, review meetings with 500 booth-level officers at Gujarat University and 1,000 members of Electoral Literacy Clubs at Shela.