Electronic Voting Machine ( EVM) General Election to West Bengal Legislative Assembly 2016

Activity of Presiding Officer at the Dispersal Centre ( DC), before Poll, during Poll, after Poll

Verify after receiving EVM from DC That the CU & the BU of the voting machine given are the same which are meant for use at polling station. This shall be checked with reference to the address tags attached to the BU & CU. Election to the ………...from constituency Control Unit No….… Sl. No. and Name of Polling Station Date of Poll…………….. Election to the ………...from constituency Control Unit No….… Sl. No. and Name of Polling Station Date of Poll……………..

Verify after receiving EVM from DC Each BU & CU will have green stickers at the back with following details Name of the State/UT: Name of the Election: District Name: Control Unit No.District Running Serial Current ID First Level CheckCU Randomization 1 DateRep. ECILRep. DEODateRep. RO Rand. 2Deployment Status Polling Station No.R.O./ A.R.O.

Verify after receiving EVM from DC That the ‘Cand Set Section’ of control unit is duly sealed and the address tag is firmly attached thereto. That the battery installed in the ‘Cand Set Section’ of the control unit is fully operational. This may be checked by putting the Power Switch provided in the rear compartment to `ON' position. Display will show ‘BATTERY HIGH’. After the said checking, the power switch must be put to `OFF' posi tion.

Verify after receiving EVM from DC That the candidates' blue buttons which have been unmasked and are visible on the ballot units are equal to the number of contesting candidates, and that the remaining buttons, if any, have been masked. That each of the ballot units is duly sealed and secured at two places, i.e. at right top and right bottom portions, with the seals of the Returning Officer, and that the address tags are firmly attached thereto.

Preparation of EVM by Presiding Officers before Poll

EVM – Seals/Tags used Election To: (Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly) From: (No. and Name of) Constituency Control Unit/ Balloting Unit No.: (ID number) Serial No. & Name of Polling Station Where Used ……..…….… … Date of Poll:……………………………………… FrontRear Special tag for sealing Result section inner compartment Green Paper seal for sealing Result and Print windows Address tag with sealing thread Outer Paper Strip Seal (23.5” X 1”) ABD Upper Side C Lower Side Pre-gummed portion with wax paper Front Rear 09854

EVM – On the day of Polling Remove the Balloting Unit and Control Unit from their carrying cases Connect Balloting Unit to the Control Unit Open Bottom compartment of Control Unit and Switch ON Power

Open “Result Section” outer door and then the inner door EVM – On the day of Polling

Press Button to show to the Polling agents present that there are no votes polled. Clear EVM – On the day of Polling

Conduct MOCK POLL for the benefit of Polling Agents Press BALLOT button on Control Unit and register one vote for any candidate in Balloting Unit Ask Polling Agents to cast one/ equal no. of votes for any of the candidates and request to remember whom they voted 1.Pl ensure that the Polling Agents are voter of the same Polling Station 2.It should be conducted 60 minutes prior to scheduled time of poll

EVM – On the day of Poll – Mock Poll Ensure that result shows according to the number of votes cast in favor of the concerned candidates Close the MOCK POLL by pressing button in Control Unit Press BALLOT button in Control Unit to show NO vote can be recorded further after the ……… button is pressed. ………… message is displayed Close INVALID

Press and show the MOCK Poll result Result EVM – On the day of Poll – Mock Poll

BALLOT EVM –Mock Poll - Sequence Switch OFF & SEAL Close Result Clear Ensure that equal number of votes are polled for all candidate s

Press button to show that there is no vote in favor of any candidate Clear Fix Green paper seal in the frame on inner side of the door of inner compartment of RESULT Section Close the door of inner compartment ensuring that the two open ends of paper seal protrude outwards as shown EVM – Sealing for Actual Poll Open back cover and the power Switch OFF

EVM – Sealing for Actual Poll Seal the Inner compartment and seal along with the SPECIAL TAG Close the Outer door of Result Section & allow Green Paper Seal to protrude out as shown. Seal the outer door with an ADDRESS TAG. Fix the OUTER PAPER STRIP SEAL.

Important Seals /tags to be used by Presiding Officer to ready the CU for Poll Green Paper Seal (on the door of the inner compartment) Special Address Tag (over the Close button aperture) Outer Strip Seal ( outside the CU) Address Tag ( on the door of the Result Section)

EVM - Setting up in the Polling Station Place the Balloting Unit in the Voting compartment and the Control Unit on the table of the Presiding/Polling Officer Connect Balloting Unit to Control Unit. Take care to place the Cable in such a way that voters are not required to cross over it. Open the bottom compartment and Switch ON power. Close the bottom compartment of the Control Unit.

Conditions of Mock Poll Ensure that Polling agents are strictly voter of that Polling station. Mock poll should be conducted one hour before the commencement of poll. If all polling agents do not reach, PRO may wait for 15minutes and start mock poll. Atleast two polling agents should remain present. Atleast 50 votes to be taken for Mock Poll,3 votes for each button. The PrO should mention names of the agents, names of the candidates & take their signatures. The PrO should conduct Mock Poll & sign the Mock Poll certificate in the prescribed format. Should be videographed where ever vidography arrangement has been made at the polling station. Sector Officer will collect such certificate by first hour. Non confirmation of mock poll could be indicative of non commencement of poll.

During Poll In case of any malfunctioning, ECIL experts will check and recommend replacement in writing. BU and CU are to be replaced in pairs. Mock Poll has to be conducted for any replacement of EVM in due manner. At least 1 vote for each candidate must be given. The no. of EVM replaced must be reported to the Sector Officer, RO and Observer. Mock Poll certificate to be prepared in due manner.

Procedure at Close of Poll

After the Close of POLL, remove the cap on Close button in the Control Unit and press the button as shown. Poll is closed. The Control unit displays total no. of votes recorded. Fix the cap back in its place. Close EVM – Closing of Poll

Open the bottom compartment of the Control Unit and Power and disconnect the interconnecting cable Seal the carrying cases and fix address tags. Pack the Control unit (with the Strip seal) and Balloting Unit in their carrying cases EVM – Closing of Poll Switch OFF

EVM – Closing of Poll – Important Tips The ProblemThe Remedy After Ballot button is activated in Control Unit, the last voter may refuse to vote After the poll was over, inadvertently Ballot button may have been pressed To stop the red Busy lamp in Control Unit, switch OFF the power. Busy lamp will stop glowing. Then switch ON power and close the poll.

EVM – Display Samples Indicates that the EVM is set for 16 candidates CANDIDATES 16 FULL ………. INVALID ……….… ………. Indicates a button on the Control unit is pressed out of sequence Indicates that the maximum number of votes (2000) for which the EVM is designed, has been polled Indicates that the Power Pack is weak BATTERY HIGH BATTERY MEDIUM BATTERY LOW Indicates that the capacity of the Battery is High Indicates that the capacity of the Battery is Medium Indicates that the capacity of the Battery is Low

EVM – Display Samples Indicates the internal Serial number of the PCB SL NO – E PST PET COMPUTING RESULT RESULT PDT Indicates that the RESULT is getting computed Indicates the Poll Starting Time and Poll End Time Indicates the Result and Date of the Poll CANDIDATE PRINTING ….. CLOCK ERROR …. Indicates that the Candidate No.6 has polled 236 votes Indicates the Print operation is under progress Indicates that the RTC time and date is not OK

EVM – Display Messages Link Error The interconn ecting cable is not connected to Control Unit properly OR Slide switch position in the Balloting Unit is not set at correct number OR Balloting units have not been inter-linked in correct sequence Pressed Error One of the candidates button in the Balloting Unit is either kept pressed or jammed Error The Control Unit cannot be used further LINK ERROR - 1 PRESSED ERROR ERROR

Do’s and Don’ts

DOs Read the EVM Manual carefully before operating the EVM Press the latches gently and only in the manner specified Protect the EVM from dust, heat, rain, fire and other such hazardous environments Ensure that the covers of the compartments / Sections in the Balloting Unit and the Control Unit rest properly on the plain surface when opened Ensure that the Connector by matching the Interconnecting Cable properly with the connector on the Control Unit before pressing in. This will match in one direction only

Exert undue pressure on latches, hinges etc. Keep EVM near heater or other hot objects Allow molten lac/sealing wax to fall on the EVM while sealing Force open the covers or doors of various sections Remove the Strip Seal until the Control Unit is on counting table DON’Ts DO NOT

Remove power pack from the Control Unit used for poll Force the connector fixed at the end of the Interconnecting cable into the connector of Control Unit in the reverse direction Pull the Interconnecting cable while disconnecting it from the Control Unit without pressing the spring type clips on the hood of the connector DON’Ts DO NOT

Thank You