Should You Keep Your Finger On An EVM Machine Till VVPAT Slip Appears? A FactCheck

A fake message is viral on social media claiming that when a voter presses a button on an Electronic Voting Machine (EVM), they should not remove their finger from the button until the Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slip comes out.

The viral message reads, “While pressing the button on the EVM machine, keep in mind not to remove the finger from the button until the VVPAT slip comes out. Be sure to tally your vote with the VVPAT slip. Pls forward this to as many people as possible.”

BOOM searched on Facebook with the same text and found that this message was viral accompanied by a demonstration video of EVM VVPAT.

Click here to view the post and here for an archive.

FACT-CHECK

BOOM contacted Sheyphali Sharan, official spokesperson of the Election Commission of India (ECI), who said that the WhatsApp forward was “incorrect and baseless”.

BOOM also checked the the fourth Edition of ‘Manual on Electronic Voting Machine’ and ‘VVPAT manual’ on the Election Commission Of India (ECI) website, and found no mention that a voter should not remove their finger from the button until the VVPAT slip comes out.

“When a vote is cast, a slip is printed on the VVPAT printer containing the serial number, name, and symbol of the candidate and remains exposed through a transparent window for 7 seconds. Thereafter, this printed slip automatically gets cut and falls in sealed drop box of the VVPAT,” states the manual on the VVPAT.

Read the 4th Edition of Manual on Electronic Voting Machine and VVPAT here.