New Delhi, September 19: India’s Election Commission said on Wednesday that electronic voting machine (EVM) ballot papers will carry colour photographs of candidates starting with the Bihar assembly elections, as part of new guidelines aimed at improving clarity and readability.
The revised norms, issued under Rule 49B of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, mandate that candidates’ faces will occupy three-fourths of the allotted photo space, with pictures measuring 2 cm in breadth and 2.5 cm in height. Black-and-white photos will be used only if a candidate does not provide a colour image.
Serial numbers of candidates and the “None of the Above” (NOTA) option will be printed in bold international numerals with a font size of 30 for better visibility. For assembly elections, the ballot paper will be printed on pink-coloured sheets using specified RGB values, the Commission said.
The new ballot paper design will accommodate up to 15 candidates on a sheet, with NOTA placed after the final name. If the total number of candidates and NOTA is fewer than 16, the remaining space will be left blank.
The Commission has directed that ballot paper printing should be undertaken at government or semi-government presses. Where such facilities are unavailable, private presses with adequate capacity may be used, subject to strict safeguards and security protocols.
The move marks the latest effort by the Election Commission to make voting procedures more accessible and transparent ahead of a busy election cycle, beginning with Bihar.
