An Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) is a thick, rectangular device used to record votes cast in elections. EVMs consist of three units – a ballot unit, a control unit, and a voter-verifiable-paper-audit-trail (VVPAT) unit. The control unit ensures that each voter can only cast one vote while the VVPAT produces a paper slip visible to the voter for about seven seconds before being stored in a sealed drop box.
During the voting process, the control unit is placed next to the officer in charge while the ballot and VVPAT units are kept in a voting compartment for voters to make their choices privately. The entire system operates without any wired or wireless connectivity to outside sources. Each ballot unit can accommodate 16 candidate options and up to 24 ballot units can be connected to a control unit, allowing for a maximum of 384 candidates on the EVM system for one seat.
EVM systems are capable of recording up to 2,000 votes and are powered by batteries or power packs supplied by government manufacturers such as Bharat Electronics Ltd and Electronics Corp of India. Election staff carefully monitor and check each EVM before and during the election process to ensure accuracy and integrity of the voting system.