First Randomisation of EVM-VVPATs Completed for Key States Ahead of Assembly Elections

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has completed the first phase of randomisation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) units for the upcoming Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry.

This development follows the announcement of the election schedule on March 15, 2026, for legislative assemblies in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, along with bye-elections in six states.
 

EVMs are allocated through a transparent two-stage randomisation process to ensure fairness. In the first stage, machines are randomly assigned from district warehouses to Assembly constituencies. In the second stage, they are further distributed from constituencies to individual polling stations.
 

According to ECI guidelines, District Election Officers (DEOs) in all poll-bound states and union territories were required to complete the first randomisation of EVM-VVPAT units that successfully passed the First Level Checking (FLC).
 

The process has now been completed not only in Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry but also for bye-elections in Goa, Karnataka, Nagaland, and Tripura, all scheduled for April 9, 2026.
 

The randomisation was conducted using the EVM Management System (EMS) in the presence of representatives from recognised national and state political parties, ensuring transparency.
 

Following the process, constituency-wise lists of randomly allocated EVMs and VVPATs have been shared with political party representatives at district headquarters.
 

These machines will now be securely stored in designated Assembly strong rooms under the supervision of political party representatives.
 

Once the final list of contesting candidates is confirmed, details of both the first and second randomisation of EVMs and VVPATs will also be shared with all candidates.