The Supreme Court has focused on an important part of Indian elections called the NOTA option. The highest court sent a notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI) asking for changes in how NOTA is used in elections.
What is NOTA?
Voters in India have the opportunity to choose the “None of the Above” (NOTA) option in the electoral system if they do not want to support any of the candidates running in an election. With this option, voters can effectively indicate that they disagree with the options that have been offered to them by rejecting every candidate listed on the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM).
People want to change how we vote
The request to the Supreme Court asked for important changes to how NOTA is used. It proposed rules saying that if NOTA wins a majority of votes in a constituency, the election should be nullified and a new round of voting needed. The plea also called for measures to stop candidates who get fewer votes than NOTA from contesting elections for five years. It called for better reporting and publicity of NOTA as a “fictional candidate.”
The Supreme Court’s view of election integrity
While addressing concerns about how elections are done, especially about using electronic voting machines (EVMs), the Supreme Court kept a balanced view. The Court said it’s important to trust the electoral system and not check every vote through EVMs and VVPAT. It said that trusting any part of the process could lead to unnecessary scepticism.
