EVMs not designed for presidential poll voting system
The Hindu
The EVMs are based on a technology where they work as an aggregator of votes in direct elections and not for a system of proportional representation
Ever wondered why electronic voting machines, used in four Lok Sabha elections and 127 assembly polls since 2004, are not deployed in polls to elect the President and Vice President of India, members of the Rajya Sabha, and members of state legislative councils? The EVMs are based on a technology where they work as an aggregator of votes in direct elections such as the Lok Sabha and state assemblies.
Voters press the button against the name of the candidate of their choice and the one who bags the maximum number of votes is declared elected.
But the election of the President is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote.
In accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of single transferable vote, every elector can mark as many preferences, as there are candidates contesting the election.
These preferences for the candidates are to be marked by the elector, by placing the figures 1,2,3, 4, 5 and so on, against the names of the candidates, in the order of preference, in the space provided in column 2 of the ballot paper.
The EVMs, officials explained, are not designed to register this system of voting. The EVM is an aggregator of votes and under the system of proportional representation, the machine will have to compute votes based on preference and it requires an altogether different technology.
In 2021, five women from Mayithara, four of them MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, found a common ground in their desire to create a sustainable livelihood by growing vegetables. Rajamma M., Mary Varkey, Valsala L., Elisho S., and Praseeda Sumesh, aged between 70 and 39, pooled their savings, rented a piece of land and began their collective vegetable farming journey under the Deepam Krishi group.