Totaliser
Also called: Totaliser machine · Topic: Electoral Reforms: Money, Criminalisation and Simultaneous Elections · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
A totaliser is a device that combines the votes from about 14 EVMs before counting. Only the combined total is shown, not the result of each polling booth. This keeps booth-wise voting patterns secret. Then no one can work out how a particular village or neighbourhood voted, and voters cannot be targeted or threatened afterwards. The Election Commission and the Law Commission (255th report, 2015) support it, but the government has not adopted it.
Example
Today, EVM counts show how each booth voted. A winning candidate could see that one village voted against them and then deny that village help or threaten it. With a totaliser, the results of about 14 booths would be mixed together, so no single village's choice could be picked out.
Don't confuse with
- VVPAT: VVPAT helps people check that each vote was recorded correctly. The totaliser hides booth-wise results to protect voters.