New Delhi:
Elon Musk on Sunday praised the effectivity of India’s vote-counting course of and slammed the extended delays in components of the United States, notably California. In a publish on X (previously Twitter), Mr Musk applauded India’s means to rely 640 million votes in simply someday after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, contrasting it with the sluggish vote tallying in California for the US presidential elections, which stays unfinished almost 20 days after voting started on November 5.
Responding to a publish that carried a screenshot of a media report titled ‘How India counted 640 million votes in a day’, the Tesla and SpaceX chief wrote, “India counted 640 million votes in 1 day. California continues to be counting votes”
India counted 640 million votes in 1 day.
California continues to be counting votes 🤦♂️ https://t.co/ai8JmWxas6
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 24, 2024
India carried out its Lok Sabha elections earlier this yr, involving over 900 million eligible voters. Of these, a record-breaking 642 million folks solid their votes. Despite the sheer scale, outcomes had been declared inside a single day of counting.
How India Counted The Votes
Through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs): Used since 2000, these units guarantee speedy and correct counting.
Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT): Introduced to boost transparency, the VVPAT system produces a paper slip for each vote solid, permitting for verification if wanted.
Additionally, India’s 543 parliamentary constituencies conduct counting concurrently, overseen by the Election Commission of India (ECI). According to Supreme Court tips, postal ballots are processed and counted earlier than EVM votes are unsealed. Under the supervision of Returning Officers, votes are tallied in centralised places, and outcomes are declared after every spherical.
Even throughout state elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand final week, India managed to rely almost 90 million votes in just some hours. Maharashtra alone, with a inhabitants 4 instances that of California, delivered outcomes with outstanding effectivity.
Why The Delay In California
Vote counting within the United States – notably in states like California – usually stretches over weeks. California, probably the most populous US state, reported delays in its November 5 presidential election, with greater than 300,000 ballots nonetheless uncounted weeks later. This has drawn criticism not solely from Mr Musk but in addition from voters and analysts who query the system’s effectivity.
California conducts most of its elections by mail. Processing these ballots includes a number of steps like Signature verification on poll envelopes, opening and sorting ballots earlier than they are often tallied, and so on.
Unlike India’s centralised oversight by the ECI, the US depends on state and native election places of work, every with its personal legal guidelines and assets.