Indian EVMs tamper-proof: EC after Tulsi's paper ballot call

NEW DELHI: After US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said electronic voting systems are vulnerable to hacking allowing manipulation of results and called for a return to paper ballots, sources in EC clarified EVMs used in India are distinct from electronic voting systems employed in some countries, in that the ones here are like accurate calculators with nil connectivity to the internet, WiFi or infrared, and thus, tamper-proof, reports Bharti Jain.

"Some countries use systems which are a mix of multiple systems, machines, ballot papers & processes including private networks. Number of electors in these countries is less than one-fifth of nearly a billion Indian electors," an EC functionary told TOI.

Indian EVMs are standalone devices with nil connectivity, which discounts any possibility of a hacker gaining access to its software or the votes recorded in it. It was emphasised that EVMs used in Indian LS and assembly polls have withstood legal scrutiny by SC and are invariably checked and verified by political parties' members at various stages.