Electoral Malpractices

Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect
vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored
candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates, or both. Many kinds of election fraud
are outlawed in electoral legislation, but others are in violation of general laws, such as those
banning assault, harassment or libel. Although technically the term 'electoral fraud' covers only
those acts which are illegal, the term is sometimes used to describe acts which are legal but
nevertheless considered morally unacceptable, outside the spirit of electoral laws, or in violation
of the principles of democracy. Show elections, in which only one candidate can win, are
sometimes considered to be electoral fraud, although they may comply with the law.
The Election System: Structural Problems
India is a Republic composed of 28 States and 7 Union Territories and governed by the
constitution adopted in 1950. The Parliament consisting of the Upper House with 245 members
and the Lower House with 545 members is the supreme law making body. The Lower House
members are directly elected through universal adult franchise every five years unless the
government loses its majority and mid-term elections have to be called. A similar structure exists
at the State level where the Chief Minister and the Council of Ministers reign supreme. A threetiered Panchayati Raj System, consisting of the zilla parishad at the district level, the panchayat
samiti at the block level, and the gram panchayat at the village level, has been regularized as
small administrative units. On the basis of the 74th constitutional amendment, municipal bodies
have been similarly regularized and the competitive election system has been extended to these
grass-roots levels also.
The Constitution of India has vested in the Election Commission of India the
superintendence, direction and control of the entire process for conduct of elections to the
Parliament and Legislature of every State and the local bodies and to the offices of President and
Vice-President of India. The major Election laws are Representation of the People Act, 1950,
which mainly deals with the preparation and revision of electoral rolls, and the Representation of
People Act, 1951 which deals, in detail, with all aspects of conduct of elections and post election
disputes. The Election Commission is a statutory body and enjoys considerable discretionary

powers. The Constitution provides for equal rights to every citizen of the country to vote in the
elections. However, the vast diversity of the country makes the process of elections extremely
difficult to implement these rights. There are major differences in the culture, language, ethnicity,
religion, historical experiences and economic status of the people. The dominant patriarchal
system has also delegated the women to an inferior status. Nevertheless, one person one vote has
made the Indian system the biggest experiment in democratization seen anywhere in the world. It
set the country on a revolution the likes of which have not been seen since 1767.
Specific Methods
Electoral fraud can occur at any stage in the democratic process, but most commonly it
occurs during election campaigns, voter registration or during vote-counting. The two main types
of electoral fraud are (1) preventing eligible voters from casting their vote freely, and (2) altering
the results.
Electorate manipulation
Most electoral fraud takes place during or immediately after election campaigns, by
interfering with the voting process or the counting of votes. However, it can also occur far in
advance, by altering the composition of the electorate. In many cases this is not illegal and thus
technically not electoral fraud, although it is a violation of the principles of democracy.
Manipulation of Demography
In many cases it is possible for authorities to artificially control the composition of an
electorate in order to produce a foregone result. One way of doing this is to move a large number
of voters into the electorate prior to an election.
Disenfranchisement
The composition of an electorate may also be altered by disenfranchising some types of
people, rendering them unable to vote. In some cases, this may be done at a legislative level, for
example by passing a law banning prison inmates, recent immigrants or members of a particular

ethnic or religious group from voting, or by instituting a literacy or other test which members of
some groups are more likely to fail. Since this is done by lawmakers, it cannot be election fraud,
but may subvert the purposes of democracy. This is especially so if members of the
disenfranchised group were particularly likely to vote a certain way.
Intimidation
Voter intimidation involves putting undue pressure on a voter or group of voters so that
they will vote a particular way, or not at all. Absentee and other remote voting can be more open
to some forms of intimidation as the voter does not have the protection and privacy of the polling
location. Intimidation can take a range of forms.

Violence or the threat of violence: In its simplest form, voters from a particular
demographic or known to support a particular party or candidate are directly threatened
by supporters of another party or candidate or by those hired by them. In other cases,
supporters of a particular party make it known that if a particular village or neighborhood
is found to have voted the 'wrong' way, reprisals will be made against that community.
Another method is to make a general threat of violence, for example a bomb threat which
has the effect of closing a particular polling place, thus making it difficult for people in
that area to vote.

Attacks on polling places: Polling places in an area known to support a particular party
or candidate may be targeted for vandalism, destruction or threats, thus making it difficult
or impossible for people in that area to vote.

Legal threats: In this case voters will be made to believe, accurately or otherwise, that
they are not legally entitled to vote, or that they are legally obliged to vote a particular
way. Voters who are not confident about their entitlement to vote may also be intimidated
by real or implied authority figures who suggest that those who vote when they are not
entitled to will be imprisoned, deported or otherwise punished.

Economic threats: The voter exits the voting booth, a conspirator to the fraud
handshakes the voter. The conspirator, then, subtly checks the voter's hands for any shoe
polish or notes. If the conspirator finds shoe polish or notes in the voter's hands, then that
unfortunate voter gets fired or faces other unpleasant consequences.

Vote buying
Voters may be given money or other rewards for voting in a particular way, or not voting.
In some jurisdictions, the offer or giving of other rewards is referred to as "electoral treating".
Misinformation
People may distribute false or misleading information in order to affect the outcome of an
election.
Misleading or confusing ballot papers
Ballot papers may be used to discourage votes for a particular party or candidate, using
design or other features which confuse voters into voting for a different candidate.
Ballot stuffing
Ballot stuffing is when one person submits multiple ballots during a vote in which only
one ballot per person is permitted. The name originates from the earliest days of this practice in
which people literally did stuff more than one ballot in a ballot box at the same time.
Misrecording of votes
Many elections feature multiple opportunities for unscrupulous officials or 'helpers' to
record an elector's vote differently from their intentions. Voters who require assistance to cast
their votes are particularly vulnerable to having their votes stolen in this way.
Misuse of proxy votes
Proxy voting is particularly vulnerable to election fraud, due to the amount of trust placed
in the person who casts the vote. In several countries there have been allegations of retirement
home residents being asked to fill out 'absentee voter' forms. When the forms are signed and
gathered, they are then secretly rewritten as applications for proxy votes, naming party activists
or their friends and relatives as the proxies. These people, unknown to the voter, then cast the
vote for the party of their choice.

Destruction or invalidation of ballots

One of the simplest methods of electoral fraud is to simply destroy ballots for the 'wrong'
candidate or party. This is unusual in functioning democracies, as it is difficult to do without
attracting attention. However in a very close election it might be possible to destroy a very small
number of ballot papers without detection, thereby changing the overall result. Blatant
destruction of ballot papers can render an election invalid and force it to be re-run. If a party can
improve its vote on the re-run election, it can benefit from such destruction as long as it is not
linked to it.
Tampering with electronic voting machines
All voting systems face threats of some form of electoral fraud.
1. Tampering with the software of a voting machine to add malicious code altering vote totals or
favor any candidate.

Multiple groups have demonstrated this possibility.

Private companies manufacture these machines. Many companies will not allow public
access or review of the machines source code, claiming fear of exposing trade secrets.

2. Tampering with the hardware of the voting machine to alter vote totals or favor any candidate.

Some of these machines require a smartcard to activate the machine and vote. However, a
fraudulent smart card could attempt to gain access to vote multiple times.

3. Abusing the administrative access to the machine by election officials might also allow
Individuals to vote multiple times.
4. Man in the Middle election fraud occurs when election results are supposedly sent directly
over the internet from a county count center to the state count center but instead are diverted to
an intermediate web site where the man in the middle flips the votes in favor of a certain
candidate and then immediately forwards them on to the state count center.
Prevention
The two main strategies for the prevention of electoral fraud in society are:
1) Deterrence through consistent and effective prosecution;

2) Cultivation of mores that discourage corruption.

Mores
The patterns of conventional behavior in a society or mores are an effective means for
preventing electoral fraud and corruption in general. An advantage of cultivating positive mores
as a prevention strategy is that it is effective across all electoral systems and devices. A
disadvantage is that it makes other prevention and detection efforts more difficult to implement
because members of society generally have more trust and less of a sense for fraudulent methods.
Secret ballot
The secret ballot, in which only the voter knows how individuals have voted, is a crucial
part of ensuring free and fair elections through preventing voter intimidation or retribution.
Transparency
Most methods of preventing electoral fraud involve making the election process
completely transparent to all voters, from nomination of candidates through casting of the votes
and tabulation. A key feature in insuring the integrity of any part of the electoral process is a
strict chain of custody. To prevent fraud in central tabulation, there has to be a public list of the
results from every single polling place. This is the only way for voters to prove that the results
they witnessed in their election office are correctly incorporated into the totals.

Preventive Methods
Method
Rules

Examples
Model code of Conduct has controlled electioneering mal-practices;
Forcible disclosure of campaign funds and criminal cases have

Target Hardening

reduced role of money and muscle power.

Electronic Voting Machines & special software has helped prevent
booth capturing; Bringing police forces from outside the region
have reduced discretion exercised by local police; Selection of
booths has helped in preventing assault by anti-socials.

Facilitators

Holding election in phases has helped add force and greater

supervision; name recognition software has helped voter frauds;
Random deputation of government personnel has helped control

Entry Exit Control

Removing Inducements

their discretion.
Armed guards have strengthened polling booths
Commissions supervision of government policies during elections
have helped prevent inducements to voters; Electioneering has
become cleaner.