Author: Shamika Ravi, Sisir Debnath, and Mudit Kapoor
Publication: Brookings.edu
Date: March 20, 2017
URL:    https://www.brookings.edu/research/working-paper-using-technology-to-strengthen-democracy/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

Free and fair elections are cornerstones of democracy. In India, electronic voting machines (EVMs) were introduced with the objective of reducing electoral fraud. We exploit the phased roll-out of the EVMs in state assembly elections to study its impact on electoral fraud, democracy, and development.

Our main findings are:

* Introductions of EVMs led to a significant decline in electoral frauds, particularly in politically sensitive states which were subjected to frequent re-polls due to electoral rigging.

* It strengthened the weaker and the vulnerable sections of the society (women and the scheduled castes and tribe) who were now more likely to cast their vote.

* It made the electoral process more competitive whereby the winning margin and the vote share of the winning party declined.

* Using the luminosity data, we find that EVMs led to an increase in the provision of electricity.