First-level checking of EVMs, VVPAT commences across Tamil Nadu

The first-level checking of the electronic voting machines (EVMs) and the Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs) commenced in all districts of Tamil Nadu on Thursday for the upcoming general elections to the Legislative Assembly in 2026, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Archana Patnaik said.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has deployed 13 EVM nodal officers of various States to inspect the first-level checking preparedness, quality check and storage of EVMs and VVPATs in all districts of the State.

The first-level checking process was also monitored at the level of District Election Officer, CEO and the Commission. The political parties recognised at the national and State-level have been requested to authorise their representatives at the district headquarters to witness the first-level checking process. Before every election, the EVMs and VVPATs to be used in the polls are checked and only those that pass the process are used for polling.

The CEO had on Wednesday, December 10, conducted a meeting with nodal officers of various enforcement agencies for identification of expenditure sensitivity constituencies for the upcoming general election to the State Legislative Assembly. Authorities from various Central and State government agencies took part.

During the meeting, she explained the empirical criteria to identify the Expenditure Sensitivity Constituencies (ESCs), as per the instructions of the ECI and requested the nodal officers to give their inputs for identifying the ESCs in Tamil Nadu, an official release said.

Chennai District Election Officer and Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner J. Kumaraguruburaran held the inspection with officials and representatives of recognised political parties.