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 "Assembly elections 2024")
Assembly elections 2024 (Photo: PTI)
Leaders and political parties anxiously await today's Assembly election results in Jammu & Kashmir and Haryana. According to officials, everything has been ready for the counting procedure, which starts at 8 am, including the security management.
On the other hand, all 20 counting centers and district headquarters in Jammu & Kashmir will be used for the vote count, while 93 counting centers have been established across 90 assembly constituencies in 22 districts of Haryana. So, let us learn about the elaborate process that the people in the counting rooms employ to announce the results.
What is EVM?
Electronic voting machines, or EVMs, provide voters with a button for each candidate they choose. The control unit and the balloting unit are the two components that make up an EVM. These units are joined together by a cable. The polling officer or the presiding officer keeps the EVM's control unit.
In order for voters to cast their ballots, the balloting unit is stored inside the voting compartment. To make sure the polling officer confirms your identity, this is done.
Instead of handing out ballots, the EVM allows voters to cast their votes by having the polling officer click the vote button. The machine will have a blue button next to it that will display a list of candidates’ names and/or symbols. The button next to the name of the candidate that the voter wants to support can be pressed.
Assembly elections 2024: Place of vote counting
• There is only one place in the constituency where votes are counted.
• More counting centers are assigned based on the amount of votes when there are more seats with different constituencies.
• The Returning Officer (RO) announces the voting location.
• The Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) is in charge of several centres.
Assembly elections 2024: Points to remember
• There are several tables in a large auditorium where the votes are counted.
• If there is a possibility of crowding, the Election Commission (EC) supplies more rooms.
• In the counting centers, high-security personnel are stationed.
• The majority of counting centers are government schools and institutions.
Assembly elections 2024: How votes are counted in India?
• The EVMs are sealed and kept in a strongroom within the parliamentary constituency once voting is ended. The EVMs are removed and unsealed on election day in front of representatives from each of the political parties who are taking part.
• The RO counting votes uses postal ballots to start the voting process. Thirty minutes after the postal ballot count, the EVM vote count starts. During the counting, only the EVMs' control units are needed.
• Vote counting for each Assembly constituency is conducted in a single hall with 14 tables set up and control units of electronic voting machines (EVMs) dispersed among the tables because a parliamentary constituency contains several assembly constituencies.
• If there are many candidates, more halls or tables may be needed. However, prior approval from the electoral body is required. Under the supervision of an ARO, counting may potentially occur at multiple locations within the assembly constituency.
• To make sure the control units are sealed, assigned appropriately, and functioning as intended, a number of checks are performed prior to counting.
• Votes cast in 14 EVMs are counted in each round, and the results are displayed and written on a blackboard that is attached to every table before the next counting round.
• Supervisors and counting assistants, chosen by the RO through a randomization process, tally the votes at each table.
• A "Results" button on the EVM's control unit shows how many votes each candidate received. The total number of candidates for each constituency is also displayed.
• The EVM shows votes won by candidates one at a time, denoted by beep, when the Results button is pressed. Following the display of the candidates' vote totals, the control device displays "End."
