handbook for presiding officers - Chief Electoral Officer, Govt. of Sikkim

length of approximately five metres and is permanently attached to the
ballot unit. The cable should be so routed that it does not obstruct the
movement of voters inside the polling station and they have not to
tread or trip over it, but the entire length of the cable should be visible
and under no circumstances be concealed under the cloth or under the
table. It has to come out from the back portion of the voting
compartment through an aperture cut out at the bottom of back portion
of the voting compartment. This aperture should be wide enough so
that the portion of the ballot unit, through which the cable comes out is
visible from outside. This is necessary to keep a watch that no voter
tries to tamper with or damage the cable while inside the voting
compartment. However, this aperture in the voting compartment
should also not be so wide as to violate the secrecy of voting.
While placing the EVM in the voting compartment, it must be ensured
without fail that secrecy of voting is not violated. For this purpose, it
must be ensured that it is not near the window or the door of the polling
station. It must be ensured that the voting compartment has been
made only of cardboard and is of the dimension 21″X21″X21″ and has
been placed away from the window/door.
5.2 If sufficiently large number of ‘pardanashin’ (burqa-clad) women electors are
assigned to your polling station, you should make special arrangements for
their identification and application of indelible ink on the left forefinger by a
lady polling officer in a separate enclosure having due regard to privacy,
dignity and decency. For such special enclosure you may use locally available
but absolutely inexpensive devices and using local ingenuity, such as use of
charpoys or cloth such as bed spreads.
5.3 If more polling stations than one are located in the same building, you should
satisfy yourself that necessary arrangements have been made for segregating
the voters and making them wait in different parts of the space in front of each
polling station without causing confusion.
5.4 If the polling station is located in a private building/private institution, the
building and the area around it up to a radius of one hundred metres should
be under your control. No person (chowkidar/guard or anybody else)
connected with the owner, whether armed or unarmed, should be allowed to
remain either at the polling station or within a radius of two hundred metres
around it. The security arrangements at the polling station and within the
above area will be entirely the responsibility of the police under your control.
5.5 No photos of leaders or symbols of any political party or slogans having a
bearing on elections should be exhibited and if they are already there, you
should take steps to remove them and keep them away, till the poll is over.
5.6 No cooking or lighting of fire for any purpose should be allowed inside the
polling station during the day of the poll.
6. Display of notice
6.1 Display prominently outside each polling station-
(a) a notice specifying the polling area and the particulars of electors to be
served by the polling station; and