What is an election day? Describe how polling and counting of votes is done in India?

(a) The day when the voters cast or ‘poll’ their vote is called the election day.
(b) Polling is done in the following way:
(i) A voter whose name has been included in the voters’ list goes to a nearby polling booth in a school or a government office.
(ii) On entering the booth, the election officials identify him/her, put a mark on his/her finger and allow him/her to cast his/her vote.
(iii) Agents of the candidates are present in the polling booth to ensure that polling takes place in a fair way.
(c) Use of EVMs : Earlier the voters used to indicate who they wanted to vote by putting a stamp against the name of the candidate on the ballot paper. Now Electronic Voting Machines (E\Ms) are used to record their votes. The machine shows the names and symbols of the candidates. A voter can cast his vote by pressing the button against the candidate of his choice.
(d) Counting of votes : (i) On a fix day, votes secured by each candidate are counted by opening EVMs in the presence of the agents of all candidates.
(ii) The candidate who secures the highest number of votes in the constituency is declared elected.
(iii) In a general election, usually counting of votes in all the constituencies takes place at the same time, on the same day. T.V. channels, radio and newspapers report this event. Within a few hours of counting, all the results are declared and it becomes clear as to which party or coalition of parties or alliance will form the government.