Can EVMs Be Manipulated? Why Major Democracies Banned Them and What India Must Learn

Can EVMs Be Manipulated? Why Major Democracies Banned Them and What India Must Learn

By The Sensible Arya


Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were introduced to make elections faster and free from human error. But global experiences, expert analyses, and multiple demonstrations over the years suggest that EVMs—though efficient—can be hacked or manipulated, often in undetectable ways. This blog dives into why several countries have banned or abandoned EVMs, and why India’s system must face deeper public scrutiny.

🌐 Global Bans: Why Developed Democracies Said ‘No’ to EVMs

🇩🇪 Germany

Germany banned EVMs in 2009 after its Constitutional Court ruled that any vote counting process must be publicly verifiable. The machines failed this democratic requirement. The government had also invited citizens to attempt hacking EVMs—and they succeeded—showing votes could be altered invisibly.

🇳🇱 Netherlands

Abandoned EVMs in 2007 after citizen hackers exposed flaws, proving vote manipulation was possible without physical tampering. The government concluded the machines lacked transparency and trust.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

Tried EVMs in early trials but discontinued them. Major concerns were raised about hacking and lack of verifiability. Paper ballots remain the standard.

🇫🇷 France

Still uses paper ballots for the majority of elections, despite small-scale EVM usage. Public trust and transparency are prioritized.

🇺🇸 United States

Some states use EVMs, but increasing reports of vulnerabilities (especially from the DEF CON hacking conference) have led to bipartisan support for paper audit trails and independent verification mechanisms.

🧪 Proof of Manipulation: Global and Indian Cases

Venezuela (2017)

Smartmatic, the company supplying voting machines, admitted at least 1 million votes were faked in the national election.

United States (DEF CON)

At the DEF CON cybersecurity conference, hackers took minutes to break into widely used voting machines. This sparked widespread calls for paper-based verification.

Netherlands

Dutch hackers showed how to swap out parts of EVMs and change vote counts without leaving a trace. Their findings directly led to EVM bans.

🇮🇳 India’s Case: Manipulable Yet Untouchable?

Hari Prasad's 2010 Demonstration

Engineer Hari Prasad, in a 2010 research-led initiative, demonstrated how Indian EVMs could be hacked by replacing just one microchip. The machine still showed the correct display, but internally, it was casting votes for a preferred candidate.

Instead of a full audit, Prasad was arrested for exposing this flaw. To this day, the Election Commission has not allowed an independent technical audit of the machines.

Read more from The Quint

Socialist Party’s 2024 Bengaluru Protest

In a recent demonstration, the Socialist Party (India) demanded 100% verification of VVPATs (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trails). Currently, only 5 randomly selected booths per constituency undergo VVPAT verification—a number critics argue is statistically insufficient to detect tampering in close elections.

Details via Deccan Herald

Expert Views from Economic Times

An Economic Times special report revealed expert concerns that India's EVMs, though air-gapped (not connected to the internet), are not fully tamper-proof. Vulnerabilities include:

  • Insider access during manufacturing or transport
  • Lack of independent audits or open-source software
  • VVPAT slips not being comprehensively cross-checked

Explore the full article

🧾 Final Thoughts: The Call for Transparency

India, as the world’s largest democracy, cannot afford to ignore the global consensus: public trust in elections depends on transparency, not just technology. EVMs may offer speed, but unless:

  • 100% VVPAT slips are verified,
  • Machines are independently audited,
  • Manufacturing and coding processes are made public,

...then confidence in electoral outcomes will remain questioned.

Follow The Sensible Arya for more deep dives into governance, democracy, and civic accountability.

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