INDIA bloc leaders want a meeting with the Election Commission to discuss and provide suggestions on the use of VVPATs.

• A VVPAT is a machine that is attached to the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM).

• The VVPAT attached to the EVM generates a paper slip which has the name of the candidate voted for and the symbol of his party.
• This is recorded in the machine’s control unit and a printer is attached to the balloting unit and kept in the voting compartment.

• The paper slip remains visible on the VVPAT for seven seconds through a transparent window.
• The paper slip can later be retrieved and tallied with the button pressed in the EVM.
• The use of VVPATs falls under Rule 49A of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, which provides that every EVM shall have a control unit and a balloting unit.
• It further states that a printer with a drop box may also be attached to a voting machine for printing a paper trail of the vote.

These machines were first used in a by-election in Nagaland in 2013.

• In case of any dispute, the paper slips in the VVPATs can be tallied with the buttons pressed on the EVMs.
• These printed slips can be counted to verify the results.