New Delhi [India], March 21 : The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday announced the completion of the first randomisation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) for the upcoming 2026 assembly elections scheduled to be in Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry.
According to a press release issued by the ECI, the first randomisation was conducted through the EVM Management System (EMS) by District Election Officers (DEOs) in the presence of representatives from both national and state-recognised political parties.
The ECI further clarified that the allotment of EVMs to their respective polling stations was conducted through a structured two-stage randomisation process.
In the primary stage, EVMs were randomly allocated from district-level warehouses to the specific Assembly Constituencies. Subsequently, the second stage involved the random allocation of these machines from the constituency level directly to individual polling stations.
In accordance with the directives issued by the Election Commission of India, District Election Officers across all poll-bound States and Union Territories were required to complete the first randomisation of EVM-VVPATs. This mandate specifically applied to those units that have successfully cleared the First Level Checking (FLC) process, the release said.
Following this process, constituency-wise lists of the randomised EVMs and VVPATs were formally shared with these party representatives at their respective district headquarters.
The ECI further stated that these machines will be securely stored in designated Assembly Strong Rooms, again under the supervision of representatives from recognised political parties.
Once the final list of contesting candidates is prepared, the comprehensive records of both the first and second randomised EVMs and VVPATs will be shared with all candidates to ensure complete transparency in the electoral process, the release said.
Additionally, the EC has also concluded the randomisation process for the upcoming bye-elections in Goa, Karnataka, Nagaland, and Tripura. These states are scheduled to go to the polls on April 9, with the final lists for both EVMs and VVPATs now randomised in preparation for the voting.