CHENNAI: In preparation for the 2026 Assembly elections, the first-level randomisation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units that have completed First-Level Checking (FLC) was carried out on Monday in the presence of district election officers and Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) commissioner J Kumaragurabaran and representatives from recognised political parties.
A press release from GCC said, "As many as 4,889 ballot units (EVMs) and control units, and 5,295 VVPAT units are allotted in 16 assembly constituencies in Chennai. The highest EVMs are allotted to Velachery with 376, followed by Virugampakkam with 373, and the least was to Harbour with 230 EVMs."
The randomisation followed the detailed procedures outlined in the Election Commission of India's (ECI) "Electronic Voting Machine" manual, which is available on the official website: https://www.eci.gov.in/evm-vvpat.
The allocated machines will be handed over to the Returning Officers (RO) and Assistant Returning Officers (ARO) for use in the upcoming election.
Subsequently, these units will be stored in Strong Rooms within their respective assembly constituencies under police protection and in the presence of political party representatives. Once the final list of contesting candidates is confirmed, the specific details of the machines allocated through this randomisation will be provided to all candidates.
In another separate press release, it said, "Training sessions will be held for 19,594 election officers, including preceding officers, polling officers 1, 2 and 3. In handling the EVMs, postal ballot proceedings and general protocols and duties required at polling booths."