Ahead of the Assembly elections in Bihar, the Election Commission on Wednesday issued new guidelines pertaining to the design and printing of EVM ballot papers, to enhance clarity for the voters. Henceforth, the EVMs will have colour photographs of candidates. The serial number will also be displayed prominently on the machines.
Since 2015, the ballot papers on EVMs had black and white photos of candidates which voters are finding difficult to recognize. The practice to use photographs was launched to avoid confusion in constituencies where several candidates shared the same name or have similar sounding names.
The poll body has decided to include colour photographs of candidates, which would occupy three-fourths of the photo space, so that they are clearly visible. In a statement released by the EC, it said that the initiative is in line with the 28 other decisions taken by it in the last 6 months to improve the election processes and enhance convenience of the voters.
The EC also decided that the serial numbers of candidates and the None of the Above (NOTA) option will be printed in the international form of Indian numerals on the EVM ballot papers. The candidates’ name will be printed in the same font type but with large font size to ensure that the voters can read it clearly.
The font size will be 30 and in bold for clarity. The EC said that the EVM ballot papers will be printed on 70 GSM paper. For Assembly elections, pink-coloured paper of specified RGB values shall be used.
The upgraded EVM ballot papers, with all the changes, will be used in the upcoming elections, the EC said.
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