Amid buzz over Tulsi Gabbard’s statements on Voting systems; EC underlines Indian EVM’s sanctity

With social media abuzz over US National Security Advisor Tulsi Gabbard’s latest statements casting doubts on ‘Electronic Voting Systems’ in the US, Election Commission sources in India sought to underline that the statements must not be linked with the Indian EVM which only works like a simple calculator (that cannot link up with internet or wifi) and has also passed Supreme Court scrutiny multiple times.

“Some countries use Electronic Voting Systems which are a mix of multiple systems, machines and processes including various private networks including Internet etc. India uses simple Electronic Voting Machines which work like correct and accurate calculators and cannot be connected to either Internet, WiFi or Infrared”, poll panel sources pointed out.

They also sought to remind that the Indian EVM has stood tests of legal scrutiny by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India itself, in multiple cases.


Legal scrutiny apart, the EVMs are invariably checked by representatives of Political Parties at various stages including in the conduct of ‘Mock polls’ before actual polling starts.

More than five crore Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips have also been verified and matched while counting in the presence of contesting candidates, indicating the robust voting process in India, the EC sources emphasised.

The EC clarification has come amid many in the social media linking Gabbard’s statements as a comment on the sanctity of the Indian EVM.

“We have evidence of how these electronic voting systems have been vulnerable to hackers for a very long time and vulnerable to exploitation to manipulate the results of the votes being cast, which further drives forward your mandate to bring about paper ballots across the country so that voters can have faith in the integrity of our elections”, Tulsi Gabbard said at a media briefing at the White House, calling for a return to the paper ballot system.