Speaking of the potential risk of an EVM hack, SpaceX founder Elon Musk put forward his views on the X platform on Saturday, saying, “We should eliminate electronic voting machines. The risk of being hacked by humans or AI, while small, is still too high.”
Context of Elon Musk’s Remark
Musk’s remark came in response to a tweet by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. concerning the Puerto Rican elections. According to the Associated Press, Puerto Rico faced hundreds of voting irregularities related to EVM. Kennedy advocated for paper ballots to be an alternative for the inefficiencies of EVM, as they are less susceptible to cyber-attacks and hacking. He assured the US citizens and guaranteed honest and fair elections. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a lawyer and politician currently running as an independent candidate for the US presidency.
Rajeev Chandrashekhar Rebuttal to the Remark
India’s Former Electronics and Information Technology Minister, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, countered Musk’s remark saying it a “huge sweeping generalization” without any basis. Rajeev said, Elon Musk’s concerns on EVM inefficiencies may be valid for the US and other countries, but doesn’t apply to India.
“EVMs can be architected and built right as India has done. Happy to run a tutorial,” Rajeev Chandrashekhar added in his tweet.
He further clarified that EVM’s in India are “custom-designed, secure, and isolated from any network or media.”
Musk’s reply to Rajeev Chandrashekhar
“Anything can be hacked.” replied Elon Musk to Chandrashekar’s counter reply. See the photo below:
Rahul Gandhi supports Elon Musk’s concerns on EVM Risks
Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi supported Elon Musk point on Sunday, referring to EVMs in India as black boxes which cannot be scrutinized as it’s not allowed. He also mentioned that transparency is a missing aspect in the electoral process, He further said, “democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability.”
EVMs in India are a "black box," and nobody is allowed to scrutinize them.
Serious concerns are being raised about transparency in our electoral process.
Democracy ends up becoming a sham and prone to fraud when institutions lack accountability. https://t.co/nysn5S8DCF pic.twitter.com/7sdTWJXOAb
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 16, 2024
The image in Rahul Gandhi’s X post shows Mangesh Pandilkar, brother-in-law of the newly elected Lok Sabha MP Ravindra Waikar (Shiv Sena). He has been booked under Indian Penal Code 188 (disobeying official order) for using a mobile phone connected to EVM on Saturday. Officials claimed that he used the phone to generate an OTP that unlocked the EVM machine.
Pros and Cons of Paper Ballot & EVM Machine
Paper Ballots provides transparency, simplicity and are not susceptible to electronic malfunctioning. However, it’s time-consuming and is prone to errors.
EVM Machines, on the other hand, can speed up the counting process, and give quicker results, with reduced human error, but is mainly prone to cyber-attacks, electronic errors, and hacking threats.
Watch more: Elon Musk Hints at “X Phone” Partnership with Samsung Amid Criticism of Apple’s ChatGPT Integration
