Know how the counting of votes is done for AP polls on June 4

The counting of votes to decide the winners of the recently concluded elections is approaching. The Election Commission is making all the necessary arrangements for the vote counting process, which will commence at 8 am on June 4. A three-tier security system will be in place at the counting centers. As a precautionary measure following incidents of violence at several locations after the May 13 polling day, the Election Commission has already deployed 25 companies of central forces across the state.

More than 25,000 employees will participate in the entire counting process. They will undergo two days of training before being allocated to constituencies through randomization. A total of 200 central observers and 200 returning officers have been appointed for the 175 assembly constituencies and 25 parliamentary constituencies to closely monitor the entire voting process.

After the polling ended on May 13, the EVMs and VVPATs were stored in secure strong rooms. Half an hour before the counting begins on June 4, the EVMs will be transported from the strong rooms to the counting centers. The counting of postal ballots will commence first at the Returning Officer's table. If the process continues half an hour after the postal ballot counting starts, then the counting of EVM votes will begin.

Since the elections for the Assembly and Parliament were held simultaneously, the EVMs will be transported in different colored containers from the strong rooms to prevent any tampering. They will be placed on the counting tables one by one as per their serial numbers. Only the EVM control units will be brought in during counting; the full EVM machines are not required. The number of EVMs brought in will match the number of tables in the counting hall.

The control unit for the next round has to be brought in only after the completion of one round. The number of counting rounds depends on the number of votes polled, and tables are arranged accordingly. After completing the EVM counting, the votes recorded in the EVMs will be verified against a random sample of three VVPATs for accuracy. The Returning Officer will have to declare the results of each round only after it is recorded in the Suvidha app provided by the Central Election Commission.

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