A social media post featuring a newspaper image claims that the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced new guidelines indicating that voting will be conducted using ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs). The news clip includes the viewpoints of several stakeholders who endorse the ECI’s decision (here & here). This article seeks to fact-check the accuracy of the information presented.
The ECI unveiled the complete schedule for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on 16 March, 2024, and even issued notification for the first phase. However, it did not announce any intention to conduct the elections using ballot papers.
According to Article 324 of the Constitution of India, the ECI holds authority over the supervision, direction and regulation of parliamentary elections. Additionally, in 1988, the Parliament amended the Representation of the People Act, 1951, introducing Section 61A, which empowers the Election Commission to utilise EVMs.
Even in the recently released official schedule, the ECI announced that the elections will be held using EVMs and, contrary to the viral claim, it did not announce any inclination to conduct polls using ballot papers.
It is important to highlight that the Supreme Court, earlier this month, rejected a plea advocating for the use of ballot papers in elections. In dismissing the petition, the court expressed confidence in the reliability of EVMs. Previously, the Supreme Court and several state high courts have rejected similar pleas on multiple occasions.
Earlier, in a significant ruling, the Supreme Court had declared electoral bonds “unconstitutional” and invalidated them. The court deemed electoral bonds a breach of the Right to Information as per Article 19(1) of the Constitution.
However, there is no judgment or order of the court on EVMs.
Moreover, both the government and specifically the ECI dismissed claims about conducting elections using ballot papers. When certain YouTube channels disseminated misinformation regarding EVMs, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) unequivocally refuted these claims as false.
2.7M से अधिक सब्सक्राइबर्स और 67 करोड़ से अधिक व्यूज वाले एक #Youtube चैनल “Times Express” द्वारा इलेक्ट्रॉनिक वोटिंग मशीन बैन से जुड़ी फर्जी खबरें चलाई जा रही हैं#PIBFactCheck ने पाया कि इस चैनल के लगभग सारे वीडियोज फर्जी हैं
अधिक जानकारी के लिए देखें यह थ्रेड👇 pic.twitter.com/ZJyRiaFpAe
— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) March 8, 2024
To sum up, the Election Commission did not announce conducting the elections using a ballot paper shunning EVMs.
Claim: Election Commission of India announcing new guidelines indicating that voting will be conducted using ballot papers instead of EVMs.
Fact: The ECI did not release any new guidelines indicating the use of ballot papers for conducting elections. In fact, according to the official schedule released for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the commission plans to conduct the elections using EVMs. Recently, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea advocating for the use of ballot papers in elections. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
This story was originally published by Factly, as part of the Shakti Collective. Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by ThePrint staff.
Also read: ‘No vote to BJP’ videos on social media are old, no connection to 2024 elections