CHENNAI: Chief Electoral Officer of Tamil Nadu Satyabrata Sahoo on Tuesday said the first level check of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) would commence on July 4 in the state. The exercise would be carried out in the presence of representatives of the recognised political parties.
"The exercise is part of the preparation process for general elections. After successfully testing the EVMs and VVPATs by experts, they will be dispatched to the Election Commission of India's warehouse in each district for safekeeping. The exercise aimed at rectifying if there are any technical snags in the machines, " said Sahoo after inaugurating a workshop on first level check of EVMs/VVPATs for the district election officers on Tuesday in Chennai.
There are 68,036 polling stations in the state, he said and added there are 1,78,357 EVMs and 1,02,581 control units in the state, while there are 1,08,732 VVPATs.
"Depending upon the electorates' in each constituency/district, the EVMs/VVPATs will be sent to the respective district. We will have around 30% in excess of the actual need numbers of the machines, " he added.