Page 3 - Lesson Notes

Polling and Counting of Votes

The day when the voters cast or ‘poll’ their vote is called the election day. The voting is done in the
following manner.

1. Every person whose name is on the voters’ list can go to a nearby ‘polling booth’.
2. Once the voter goes inside the booth, the election officials identify her, put a mark on her finger
and allow her to cast her vote.
3. An agent of each candidate is allowed to sit inside the polling booth and ensure that the voting
takes place in a fair way

A ballot paper is a sheet of paper on which the names of the contesting candidates along with party
names and symbols are listed. The ballot paper was used earlier. Nowadays, electronic voting
machines (EVM) are used to record votes.

 The machine shows the names of the candidates and the party symbols.

 The voter has to just press the button against the name of the candidate she wants to give her
vote to.
 Once the polling is over, all the EVMs are sealed and taken to a secure place.

 A few days later, all the EVMs are opened and the votes secured by each candidate are
counted.
 The candidate who secures the highest number of votes from a constituency is declared
elected.