Why is uploading voting data a challenge?

Supreme Court considers petition for booth-wise voter turnout data publication, sparking controversy over election transparency.

In May 2024, in the middle of the Lok Sabha elections, the Supreme Court of India considered a petition by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), seeking the publication of the first part of Form 17C, which includes booth-wise voter turnout data, on the Election Commission of India’s (EC) website, within 48 hours of polling.

The EC flatly refused, saying that it was only legally mandated to share this form with polling agents representing electoral candidates, and not with the general public or the media. A year later, after Opposition outrage at alleged discrepancies in voter turnout and vote counts in multiple Assembly elections, the EC has told the top court it is prepared to meet with the ADR and fellow petitioner, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, signalling that the new Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is “ready and willing” to hear their demand.

The Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 mandates that a two-part form, recording voter turnout and vote count, is filled for every polling station; in the 2024 parliamentary poll, there were more than 10.5 lakh polling stations across the country. Part 1 of Form 17C is the Account of Votes Recorded, and is filled in by the presiding officer of each polling station, with a true copy to be furnished to every polling agent present at the close of the poll. It includes the identification number of the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) used in that polling station, the total number of electors assigned to that polling booth, the number of votes cast as per the EVM, as well as the numbers deciding not to record their votes or who were not allowed to vote, and whether there are any mismatches between these numbers. It also includes the number of tendered ballot papers and paper seals.

The presiding officer, as well as every polling agent present are required to sign and validate this form, before it is placed in a sealed cover and transported to the returning officer, along with the EVM, to be held until the day of counting.

On counting day, Part 2 of Form 17C, titled the Result of Counting, is filled in by the returning officer. It includes the names of each candidate and the number of votes recorded in favour of each of them, as seen when the “result” button is pressed on the EVM. The returning officer must also state “whether the total number of votes shown above tallies with the total number of votes shown against item 5 of Part 1 [which is the number of votes cast as per the EVM on the day of polling] or any discrepancy noticed between the two totals.” Part 2 is signed by the returning officer, the counting supervisor, and each candidate or their counting agents.

In July 2024, after the conclusion of the Lok Sabha elections, ADR conducted an analysis of voter data issued by the EC and arrived at the shocking conclusion that the number of votes polled tallied exactly with the number of votes counted in only five parliamentary constituencies across the country. In the remaining 538 constituencies, there were discrepancies seen; in 362 seats, the number of votes counted was cumulatively 5.5 lakh fewer than votes polled, while in 176 seats, there was a total of 35,000 extra votes counted in comparison to the votes polled.

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