CHENNAI: Polling at a booth in T T Arasu Matriculation School in Choolaimedu was disrupted for over two hours on polling day after an electronic voting machine (EVM) malfunctioned.
Disruption Details
Voting began at 7 am and proceeded normally until around 10 am, when the EVM suddenly stopped working. At the time of the disruption, more than 100 voters were waiting in line to cast their votes. Election officials removed the faulty machine, bringing polling to a halt.
Voters reported that they were initially told the issue would be resolved within 30 minutes. V Rajaram, a resident of Choolaimedu, said: “We decided to wait, but even after 45 minutes there was no update from officials. When we asked again, there was no clear response.” The delay led to arguments between voters and polling staff.
Token System Implemented
To manage the crowd, officials distributed tokens with numbers written on them to those who chose to leave. Voters were told they could return later, present the token, and skip the queue.
Machine Replacement and Resumption
The faulty EVM was eventually replaced after nearly two hours, and polling resumed around 12:30 pm. Officials took an additional 30 minutes to set up the new machine before voting restarted.
