EC warns against false complaints about malfunctioning EVMs

Mangaluru: A provision is available to voters to complain about improper functioning of the electronic voting machines to the officials present at the polling booths. They are supposed to make a formal application in a form that would be provided and get another chance to cast their votes. However, in the case where their complaint is proved to be false, they can be sent to jail for six months with an additional fine of Rs 1,000.

The Election Commission provided voters the provision to complain about the vote cast by him or her going in favor of another candidate for whom it was not intended. Presiding officer and booth level officer will subject the voters to questioning in such cases. The voter is later allowed to exercise his or her right again. The machine is inspected later. If the complaint is true, the vote cast by the complainant gets registered. Otherwise, a complaint under section 177/6 is registered and the offender will be arrested and will face jail for six months along with fine of Rs 1,000.

A mock voting is conducted in the morning in the presence of polling agents to ensure that the machine does not malfunction. People making false claims will face jail sentence and fine.