Elon Musk, the visionary behind Tesla and SpaceX, has voiced his concerns about the vulnerability of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to hacking during elections. In light of recent allegations of irregularities in Puerto Rico’s primary elections, Musk suggested that removing EVMs from the election process could mitigate the risk of tampering. “We should remove electronic voting machines. There is a risk of hacking these with the help of humans or AI. This will cause damage to the country,” Musk posted on X.
The recent election disputes in Puerto Rico have prompted authorities to scrutinize the security of EVMs. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a close relative of former US President John F. Kennedy, echoed Musk’s concerns. “The EVMs were tampered with in the primary elections held in Puerto Rico. There was a paper trail so we were able to identify the problem. Otherwise, what happens? Paper ballots should be brought back to avoid these problems so that every vote can be counted,” he stated.
However, BJP leader and former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar responded to Musk’s comments, highlighting the robustness of India’s EVMs. “Musk’s announcement seemed to generalize everything together. What he said could be applied in the US or other countries where EVMs are made to connect to the internet as common computer platforms. But, Indian EVMs are designed in such a way that they are not connected to any network or media. They lack Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and Internet connectivity. They cannot even be reprogrammed. Other countries can design electronic voting machines like India makes,” he suggested.
