Karnataka Cabinet Recommends Ballot Papers Amid Widespread EVM Credibility Concerns

Karnataka Cabinet Recommends Ballot Papers Amid Widespread EVM Credibility Concerns

RMN News Report Highlights:

🗳️ Karnataka cabinet recommends paper ballots for all future local body elections, citing the eroded credibility of EVMs to restore public trust.

⚠️ Concerns about EVM integrity are widespread, with allegations of election frauds and manipulation by the BJP in India, including vote-buying and fake voters.

🗣️ Elon Musk and Donald Trump have advocated for paper ballots due to high risks of EVM hacking by humans or AI, a sentiment echoed by an RMN News Poll showing 89% of respondents prefer ballot papers.

🔍 Specific irregularities include more EVM votes counted than polled in over 140 Lok Sabha seats during the 2024 election, and Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of “massive theft of votes” in Karnataka.

By Rakesh Raman
New Delhi | September 5, 2025

Bengaluru, India – The Congress government in Karnataka has officially recommended to the State Election Commission (SEC) that all future local body elections be conducted using paper ballots instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs). This significant move, announced today (September 5, 2025), comes as a direct response to what Law Minister HK Patil described as the eroded credibility of EVMs, with the aim of restoring public trust in the electoral process. The cabinet also authorized the SEC to prepare, revise, and, if necessary, redo electoral rolls for these polls.

This recommendation by Karnataka follows a broader nationwide call for paper ballots launched by the Congress party last year, especially after its defeat in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. Party leaders have consistently alleged that EVMs are vulnerable and that a return to paper ballots is essential to ensure transparency in the electoral process.

Concerns over EVM integrity are not limited to Karnataka. India is among the countries where rampant election frauds are reported, with allegations that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is committing various crimes to fraudulently win elections, in addition to manipulating EVMs.

These alleged crimes include vote-buying, intimidation of voters, misuse of government resources, fake voters, and misinformation campaigns. The Election Commission of India (ECI), which operates under the Modi government, is often deemed complicit in these election-related crimes and is criticized for its lack of accountability. In fact, an RMN News Poll indicated that 89% of respondents want Indian elections conducted on ballot papers, with only 9% preferring EVMs.

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Specific allegations against EVMs and the BJP have been highlighted following the 2024 Lok Sabha election, which the BJP won. It was reported that in over 140 Lok Sabha seats, more EVM votes were counted than polled. Rahul Gandhi, for instance, alleged “bhayankar chori” (massive theft of votes) in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka, citing manipulated voter lists with duplicate names, fake addresses, and misuse of Form 6. Critics widely believe that if voting were done on ballot papers instead of EVMs, neither Modi nor the BJP could win any election.

The debate over EVMs has also drawn international attention. U.S. President Donald Trump has advocated for holding elections on paper ballots instead of electronic machines, reportedly sharing this advice during a joint press conference with PM Modi in the U.S.. Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk has also warned of the risks associated with EVMs, stating in a July 9, 2024 tweet that “Electronic voting machines and anything mailed in is too risky. We should mandate paper ballots and in-person voting only”. Musk appended his tweet with media reports detailing the vulnerability of EVMs, including their potential to be reprogrammed or infected with “vote-stealing code”.

He further shattered the common pretext that counting paper ballots is time-consuming by citing Argentina, which hand-counted 99.9% of 27 million ballots in under six hours. Musk emphasized that EVMs carry a “too high” risk of being hacked by humans or artificial intelligence (AI) systems. His views were expressed following allegations of EVM irregularities in the primary elections of Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, concerns which were highlighted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an independent candidate for the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Despite these widespread concerns, a BJP politician vaguely defended Indian EVMs in a June 16 tweet, claiming they cannot be hacked because they are not connected. However, this argument has been dismissed as unfounded and an attempt to mislead Indian voters. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has dismissed petitions against EVMs, with vague remarks because Supreme Court judges cannot take any decision that may displease Supreme Leader Modi.

As a dedicated microsite explains, the risks of holding elections on EVMs in India encompass legal, political, and technological issues. Critics suggest that the alleged selective manipulation of EVMs allows the BJP and Modi to win desired elections, while “naive opposition leaders cannot understand these tricks”.

The current situation, according to some analyses, results in nearly 1.4 billion Indians suffering under the Modi regime due to “unprecedented poverty, corruption, inflation, unemployment, lawlessness, and religious animosity,” as honest and educated candidates are often not elected when elections are perceived as neither fair nor transparent.

By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.

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