Commissioning of voting machines to be completed today; Braille ballot for blind

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The commissioning of voting machines will be completed today in Kerala, where polls will be held next Friday. Commissioning is the process of arranging the ballot paper containing the serial number, candidate name, photograph and symbol on the voting machine and the serial number, name and symbol in the VVPAT machine.

The names of the candidates will be added to the ballot. It is divided into two categories namely recognized political parties and other candidates including independents. It will be in Malayalam alphabetical order. For example, BJP, Congress and CPM candidates from the Attingal constituency will be arranged starting from first in alphabetical order of their names in the first group. Four other candidates, including independents, will be arranged after that. Finally, NOTA - None of the Above. The father's name will be added if two candidates have the same name. This does not apply to party candidates.

Commissioning is taking place at 140 centres. Commissioning is conducted under the direction of Returning Officers in the presence of the engineer of Bharat Electronics Limited, who manufactured the voting machine, the Election Commission's observers and the candidate or agent.

After the ballot is set, one vote will be taken in each EVM to ensure the efficiency of the machine. Then the machine is sealed and moved to the strong room. The voting machine will be taken to 25,231 booths.

VVPAT

When a vote is cast, the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) attached to the ballot unit of the electronic voting machine prints a slip indicating the machined vote. It will be visible for seven seconds. The advantage is that the voter can know whether the vote is correct.

Braille ballot for the blind

Braille ballot has also been prepared for the blind to vote without assistance. The ballot is printed at the press of the Kerala Federation of the Blind at Government Law College Junction, Thiruvananthapuram.

The ballot is prepared in the same format as the names and serial numbers of the candidates are marked in the electronic voting machine. The Lok Sabha constituency, date of election, candidates, serial number and political parties will be mentioned in the ballot in English and Malayalam.