ECI revises guidelines to make EVM ballot papers more voter-friendly

New Delhi, Sep 18: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has revised guidelines for the design and printing of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) ballot papers to improve clarity and readability, with the changes set to be implemented from the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

For the first time, photographs of candidates will be printed in colour, with three-fourths of the space devoted to the candidate’s face for better visibility. Serial numbers of candidates and NOTA will now be displayed more prominently, in bold international numerals with a font size of 30.

To ensure uniformity, the names of all candidates and NOTA will be printed in the same font type and large font size. Ballot papers will also be printed on 70 GSM paper, with pink-coloured paper of specified RGB values to be used for Assembly elections. The initiative is part of 28 measures undertaken by the ECI in the past six months to streamline election processes and enhance voter convenience.