India Elections

We are fortunate to be in India as a spectator in India's elections because it was interesing to see the differences between their election and ours. India has their elections every 5 years.

"Campaigning ends the day before the voting day. Government schools and colleges are chosen as polling stations. The day of the elections is declared a holiday and all liquor shops and bars are shut down. The Collector of each district is in charge of polling. Government servants are employed to many of the polling stations. Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are being increasingly used instead of ballot boxes to prevent election fraud via booth capturing, which is heavily prevalent in certain parts of India. An indelible ink manufactured by the Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited is applied usually on the left index finger of the voter as an indicator that the voter has cast his vote. This practice has been followed since the 1962 general elections to prevent bogus voting."

We thought you would get a kick out of a picture we saw here in our local newspaper. They are carrying the ballotts across the river.