The Election Commission is working on a new design for electronic voting machines (EVMs) which will accommodate more than the present maximum limit of 64 candidates.
This information was given in the Lok Sabha by Law and Justice minister Salman Khurshid in response to a question. “The present EVM is so designed that it can be used only in a constituency, where the maximum number of candidates is sixty four,” Mr. Khurshid said in his written reply.
“The Election Commission has intimated that they are working on a new design of EVMs, which will accommodate more than 64 candidates,” he said.
Mr. Khurshid also said that at present ballot boxes were used in elections where the number of candidates was more than 64.
He also informed that maintenance of EVMs was done during first level checking before every election. The cost of testing and checking of one EVM was Rs. 180, he said.