India Counted 640 Million Votes In A Day, California Still Counting: Elon Musk Takes Jibe At US Poll Process

New York: Slamming the prolonged delays in some parts of United States, Elon Musk on Sunday lauded the efficiency of India’s vote-counting process. He took to the microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) to appreciate India’s ability to count 640 million votes in just one day after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He compared it with the sluggish vote tallying in California for the US Presidential elections. The counting of votes in California remains unfinished nearly 20 days after voting began on November 5.

Responding to a post that carried a screenshot of a media report titled ‘How India counted 640 million votes in a day’, the Tesla and SpaceX chief wrote, “India counted 640 million votes in 1 day. California is still counting votes.”

India conducted its Lok Sabha elections earlier this year. The elections involved over 900 million eligible Indian voters. A record-breaking 642 million people had cast their franchise. And the results were declared within a single day of counting.

Decoding India’s mammoth task

Indian elections are conducted through Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), which have been in use since 2000. These devices ensure rapid and accurate counting.

Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was introduced to enhance transparency. The VVPAT system produces a paper slip for every vote cast, allowing for verification if the need arises.

India’s 543 parliamentary constituencies conduct counting simultaneously. The counting process is overseen by the Election Commission of India (ECI).  According to Supreme Court guidelines, postal ballots are processed and counted before EVM votes are unsealed.

Why The Delay In California 

Vote counting in the United States – particularly in California – often extends over the weeks. California, which is the most populous US state, reported delays in its November 5 presidential election. According to reports, more than 300,000 ballots are still uncounted. This has drawn criticism not only from Musk but also from voters and analysts. California conducts most of its elections by mail. The processing of these ballots involves several steps like Signature verification on ballot envelopes, opening and sorting ballots before they can be tallied, among others.
The US relies on state and local election offices for the counting. Each state has its own laws and resources.