Everything before the poll, and preparing the machine

For the Presiding Officer · Municipal General Election 2026 (Rajasthan)

⛔ Caution — the list of identity documents has changed. The Margdarsika's Annexure-16 (order 603 dated 19.01.2026) has been superseded by the Commission's order 5310 dated 30.07.2026. For the list in force and its three conditions, see 10 §1.

Source: the State Election Commission's Margdarsika 2026 — chapters 1, 3, 4, 4-A, 5, 14. Reference marks [MG Ch.3] etc.; page links in CITATIONS.

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§1 — 🚨 The most important item — the "No Vote" voter and item 3 of Form 14-C

This appears in a box at the end of chapter 1 of the Margdarsika and is routinely missed in training.

The Margdarsika's own words [MG Ch.1 — important box]:

"Where a voter signs the voters' register and then, on going into the voting compartment, does not wish to cast a vote on the machine, the Presiding Officer should encourage him to cast his vote for NOTA. If even then the voter does not cast his vote, mark that voter in the voters' register as No Vote. The Presiding Officer will enter the number of such voters at item 3 of Form 14-C — total number of voters not permitted to vote under rule 45-A. The END (16th) button of the MPSV machine will remain masked."**

Three things follow from it

✅ Confirmed (Annexure-8, printed p.113): Form 14-C has two separate deduction items —

item 5 = item 2 − item 3 − item 4 · specimen: 807 = 815 − 5 − 3

Item	Who	Rule
3	"No Vote" — those who did not cast a vote themselves	rule 45-A
4	those you did not allow to vote — refusal of ink/signature, or breach of procedure/secrecy	rule 35-A or 37-A

The full form, its head, the paper-seal account and Part 2 → 07 §7

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🔴 §1.1 — The "rule 45-A" question — if an agent or a trainee asks (23.08.2026)

This question will come up. The box above is the Margdarsika's own text and it says "under rule 45-A". But there is no longer any rule 45-A in the Rules.

The ULB Manual, Chapter III-A, prints this between rules 44-A and 46-A —

1[XXX 45-A deleted]

(I read that line myself.)

This is not a mess — understand why

🔴 Then what goes at item 3 of Form 14-C?

Exactly what the Margdarsika says — the number of "No Vote" voters. The rule reference printed on the form is a label, not an instruction. The instruction is the Commission's own and is fully operative.

🚨 Say this: "Item 3 takes the figure the Margdarsika prescribes — those who signed and then did not cast a vote. The count turns on that figure: item 5 = item 2 − item 3 − item 4. The rule number on the label is left over; the arithmetic is unchanged."

✅ Never merge item 3 with item 4 — they rest on different grounds

The original text of rule 37-A(6)–(7) (read first-hand):

"(6) If a voter who has been permitted to vote under rule 35-A or 44-A, refuses after warning given by the presiding officer, to observe the procedure as laid down in sub-rule (3), the presiding officer or a polling officer under the direction of presiding officer shall not allow such voter to vote. (7) Where a voter is not allowed to vote under sub-rule (6), a remark to the effect that voting procedure has be violated, shall be made against the name of voter in the register of voters in Form 14-A by the presiding officer under his signature."

✅ Two confirmations: (1) the "note + the Presiding Officer's full signature" requirement is in the rule itself — not merely a Margdarsika precaution. (2) It applies to a tendered voter (44-A) as well, not only to an ordinary voter (35-A).

⚠️ This is not a defect in our material. The box above is the Margdarsika's text, quoted verbatim. The dead cross-reference is in the rule book — Form 14-C's label and rule 55(5)'s list both still say "45-A" although the rule itself stands deleted. Know it, but do not change how the form is filled.

✏️ Correction — the blank Form 14-C has now been read (23.08.2026, later the same day)

🔴 This morning I wrote item 3 above as "voters not permitted to vote" — because that is how the Margdarsika's box puts it. I have since read the Form 14-C printed in the ULB Manual myself, and the form's own wording is different, and sharper.

The original words of Form 14-C Part 1:

3. No. of voters deciding not to record votes under rule 45A. 4. No. of voters not allowed to vote under rule 35A or 37A.

🔴 Two corrections —

⚠️ The "not permitted / not allowed" language actually belongs to item 4, not item 3. The Margdarsika's box blends item 4's wording with item 3's rule reference. The form is the clearer of the two — teach the form's wording.

✅ The corrected table

🚨 This correction does not change the arithmetic — item 5 = item 2 − item 3 − item 4 stands. But a voter who refuses the indelible ink goes at item 4, not item 3 — that distinction was not clear before.

📋 Form 14-C Part 1 — the full item list (from the original form)

✅ Item 9's signature column was not recorded before. The paper-seal account is not just figures — the form prints a space beside it for the agents' signatures.

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§2 — The machine and the models [MG Ch.1(2)]

2.1 Which machines the Commission holds 🚨

"The models of voting machine available with the State Election Commission are the MK5 of Bharat Electronics Ltd., Bangalore and the Multi Post Single Vote (MPSV) model of the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL). Elections to urban bodies in the State will be conducted with the machines available with the State Election Commission. So far as the basic operating procedure is concerned, there is no difference in the basic procedure of the control unit and ballot unit of these types of voting machines." [MG Ch.1(2)4]

⚠️ Note — there is no chapter in the Margdarsika for the MPMV (the white machine, with DMM). Chapter 1 says the Commission holds only MK5 and MPSV. Even so, letter 826 in the Compendium deals with sealing the MPMV/DMM (those machines belong to the State Election Commission of Madhya Pradesh). If MPMV is allotted to a body, no material in the Margdarsika 2026 covers its operation — a point worth putting to the Commission. See SDMM / DMM Sealing After Counting — the procedure and GAPS.

2.2 How many candidates on one ballot unit 🚨

"Depending on the model, one ballot unit provides for an election of up to 15 candidates on the MPSV model and 16 on the M3A/MK5 (including NOTA). Where there are more candidates than that, additional ballot units are used as required." [MG Ch.1(2)2]

2.3 What is special about the MPSV — all the data sits in the SDMM 🚨

"The Multi Post Single Vote (MPSV) model machines available in the State have been made specially for local body elections. They support more than one post and a single vote. … The CU is used only as a device for conducting the election. No polling data or any election-related data is stored in it. All election-related particulars and data are stored in the SDMM. … In this machine, one control unit can control the ballot units used for more than one post (a maximum of four)." [MG Ch.1(2)5]

🚨 This is why — · on an MPSV the SDMM is the record, not the control unit; · under circular 2292 ¶29(1) ECIL's CU is not separately sealed; · letters 705 / 826 deal with sealing the SDMM/DMM at such length. See SDMM / DMM Sealing After Counting — the procedure.

2.4 The four sections of the control unit [MG Ch.1(2)6]

The difference on M3A/MK-5: the inner compartment has RESULT and PRINT buttons (not RESULT-I / RESULT-II) [MG Ch.4-A(4)].

2.5 Slide switch / thumbwheel [MG Ch.1(2)7 · Ch.3(4)2(4)]

• MPSV: the slide switch is at the top right of the BU panel. Four positions — 1, 2, 3, 4. 🚨 With only one BU the switch stays at position 1. With more than one, 2, 3, 4 in order. The switch position can be seen through the unit's transparent panel.
• M3A/MK-5: a THUMBWHEEL SWITCH WINDOW; the battery goes only in the 5th, 9th, 13th, 17th and 21st BU [MG Ch.4-A figure].

2.6 How many units a municipality gets 🚨

"The number of ballot units will depend on the number of candidates contesting the member's seat in your ward. One ballot unit and one control unit will be given for the member's seat at a polling station." [MG Ch.3(4)2(4)]

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§3 — Forming the polling party, and rehearsals [MG Ch.3(2)]

1. Besides you there will be three polling officers in your party.
2. 🚨 The District Election Officer may authorise one of the polling officers in your party to discharge the Presiding Officer's duties in your absence for unavoidable reasons — even so, "this does not relieve you of your responsibility" [MG Ch.3(5)1(11)].
3. Get the other members' mobile numbers and home addresses early and tell each of them his role. "If there is no team spirit, your work as Presiding Officer becomes much harder."
4. Rehearsals: - Attend as many rehearsals as you can. - 🚨 Take with you the authorised polling officer who would act in your absence. "Both of you should perform the various operations on the voting machine yourselves and not be satisfied merely with watching a demonstration. Both of you should also familiarise yourselves with fixing the pink paper seal, strip seal, address tag and special tag." - Prepare specimens of the account of votes recorded in Form 14-C and of the paper-seal account. - 🚨 "Even if you have used voting machines as a Presiding Officer or polling officer at a previous Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha election, you should still attend the training classes and rehearsals, because there is some difference in the election law and procedure for municipalities, and it is essential that you understand that difference too, otherwise the election cannot be conducted according to the correct procedure or instructions."

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§4 — Postal ballot / Election Duty Certificate [MG Ch.3(3)] 🚨

• "Under the directions issued by the State Election Commission it is unlikely that you or any polling officer will be on election duty in the very ward of which you or he is a voter."
• 🚨 Send the application at once with the second copy of the order of appointment, otherwise there will be no time to obtain the certificate/postal ballot and return it before the counting.
• 🚨 The application for a postal ballot must be made at least four days before the day of poll, or within any shorter period allowed by the Returning Officer.

If an EDC holder comes to your polling station — three steps

1. Get the person presenting it to sign on the certificate (Form 16);
2. 🚨 Enter that person's name and the roll serial number stated in the certificate at the end of the marked copy of the electoral roll;
3. Allow him to vote on the machine like an ordinary voter.
4. Put all Forms 16 into envelope E-8 and seal it at the end of the poll.

At the rehearsal/training centre: one copy of the roll of every ward of the municipality will be available for inspection so you can note the particulars needed in the application; spare copies of Form 15-A will also be available there.

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🔴 §4.1 — The original text of Forms 15, 15-A and 16 (read first-hand 23.08.2026)

§4 had so far cited these by name only. All three are printed in full in the ULB Manual.

✅ This confirms §4's table — one application is for voting in person, the other by post.

🔴 Form 16 carries two certifications — check these at the table

(1) "That Shri/Shrimati … is an elector in Ward No. … His name is entered at Sr. No. … in Part No. … of the electoral roll." (2) "That by reason of his being on election duty he is unable to vote at the polling station where he is entitled to vote, and that he is therefore hereby authorized to vote at — Polling Station Number … Name … where he is to be on duty on the date of poll."

🚨 The foot reads "Signature AND SEAL of the Returning Officer" — a signature alone is not enough; the RO's seal must be there too. That is a checkable point.

🔴 Also check that the polling station named in the certificate is YOUR station. An EDC naming another station is not valid at yours.

✅ What you do with an EDC holder — rule 46-A(2): take his signature on it, enter his name / serial number / part number at the end of the marked copy, then let him vote → 09 §2.4. Form 16 → envelope E-8 (sealed).

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§5 — Checks while receiving the material [MG Ch.3(4) · Ch.14(1)]

The list of all polling material is Annexure-4. You receive it on setting out, one day before the poll.

5.1 Checking the machine — 7 points [MG Ch.3(4)2]

5.2 Checking the material [MG Ch.3(4)3]

1. There is enough indelible ink in the phial and the stamp pads are not dry.
2. All three copies of the part of the electoral roll are complete and identical in every respect, in particular — - (a) the part supplied is of the same area for which the polling station is set up, and is complete with the supplements; - (b) names have been deleted from all copies as per the supplements, and clerical errors corrected; - (c) all pages of the working copy are numbered in the sequence of serial number 1 as in the original list; - (d) 🚨 the printed serial numbers of voters have not been corrected and new numbers substituted.
3. The tendered ballot papers are of the same ward and their serial numbers tally with the particulars given to you.
4. If you find any defect, inform the officer in charge of distribution or the Returning Officer at once.
5. 🚨 Photocopies of the specimen signatures of the contesting candidates and their election agents have also been given to you — these are used to verify the genuineness of the signature on a polling agent's letter of appointment (Form-9).

5.3 Only two marks in the marked copy [MG Ch.5(4) · Ch.14(1)6]

The marked copy must carry no mark or entry other than 'PB' (postal ballot) and 'EDC'. You must show this to the polling agents before the poll begins. During the poll a third mark is added — 'T' when a tendered ballot paper is issued [MG Ch.14(4)13].

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§6 — Setting up the polling station [MG Ch.3(5) · Ch.14(2)] — rule 27, Annexure-5

🚨 Reach the polling station at least one hour before the hour fixed for the poll and begin preparing the machine [MG Ch.14(2)1 and 4].

6.1 Regulating the entry of voters [MG Ch.5(6)]

• Separate queues for men and women voters.
• The queue manager should let in only three or four voters at a time.
• 🚨 Infirm voters and women voters with a child in arms are to be given the facility of voting ahead of the others standing in the queue.
• 🚨 If there is no permanent ramp for a disabled voter's wheelchair, arrange a wooden ramp.
• Let men and women voters come in alternately in separate groups. There should not be more than one separate queue each for men or for women.

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🔴 The Annexure-5 layout — now read first-hand (23.08.2026)

§6 had so far merely referred to Annexure-5. I read the page image myself — its title is "LAY OUT OF POLLING STATION (1 Presiding Officer + 3 Polling Officers)", [See Part-3 Para 5].

The voter's flow — as the diagram's arrows run

ENTRANCE  →  POLLING OFFICERS (1) & (2)  →  POLLING OFFICER No. 3 / CONTROL UNIT
                                                       ↓
                                    VOTING COMPARTMENT (BALLOT UNIT)  →  EXIT

🚨 Four things the diagram settles

ℹ️ A misprint in the original: the diagram prints "ENTERENCE" for ENTRANCE — recorded as found. ✅ The layout is drawn for 1 Presiding Officer + 3 Polling Officers — the standard party.

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§7 — Who may enter the polling station [MG Ch.3(6)] — rule 29

Besides the electors, only the following persons:

1. the polling officers
2. public servants on duty in connection with the election
3. persons authorised by the State Election Commission
4. candidates, their election agents, and, subject to rule 26(4), one polling agent of each candidate
5. a child in arms of any voter
6. the companion of a blind or infirm voter who cannot move without help
7. such other persons as the Presiding Officer may from time to time call in for the identification of voters

No one else shall enter, and the Presiding Officer shall not let others remain.

7.1 Important clarifications 🚨

7.2 Polling agents — appointment, badge, revocation 🚨

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🔴 Form-9 has three blocks — and you must counter-sign the third (23.08.2026)

I read the Form-9 printed in the ULB Manual myself (printed p. 144). The table above says "he will sign again in front of you" — that is right, but incomplete.

The declaration's original text — this is what you administer

"I hereby declare that at the above election, I will maintain, and aid in maintaining, the secrecy of the voting and shall not (except for some purpose authorised by or under any law) communicate to any person any information calculated to violate such secrecy."

🚨 Two things that get missed — (1) what the agent signs in front of you is the secrecy declaration in block 3 — not merely a specimen signature for comparison. (2) 🔴 You must counter-sign it "Signed before me", with the date. That is an act of the Presiding Officer — taking the paper is not enough.

✅ The counting agent's Form-19 has exactly the same structure — see Counting/en §6.7. The two are a matched pair.

The form's footnote: "* to be handed over to the polling agent for production at the Polling Station" — so the form stays with the agent and he produces it at the station.

🚨 Forms 9A and 10A stand deleted (notification 33841 dt 16.10.19), and Form 11 is omitted too (notification dt 11.07.14). If anyone produces a 9A, it is obsolete.

Form-10 (revocation) [rule 26(5)] — 🔴 it is addressed directly to "The Presiding Officer, Polling Station No. …", and carries only the candidate's / election agent's signature — not the agent's, and no counter-signature from you.

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§7-A — 🔴 Rules 32-A and 32-B — the rule behind machine preparation (23.08.2026)

§8 and §9 come from chapters 4 and 4-A of the Margdarsika. Rule 32-B was nowhere in this module.** I read the original text of both rules from the ULB Manual myself.

Rule 32-A — what the RO does (at commissioning)

🔴 Rule 32-B — what the Presiding Officer does

(1) To secure the control unit the presiding officer shall affix his own signature on the paper seal and obtain thereon the signatures of such of the candidates, election agents and polling agents present as wish. (3) 🚨 "The seal used for securing the control unit shall be fixed in such manner that after the unit has been sealed it is not possible to press the "result section" without breaking the seal." (6) The CU is then closed, sealed and secured and placed IN FULL VIEW of the presiding officer and the candidates, election agents and polling agents present; the BU goes in the voting compartment.

✅ Sub-rule (3) states the purpose of the pink paper seal in the rule's own words — say exactly that in training: "the seal exists so that the result section cannot be pressed without breaking it."

🔴🔴 Rule 32-B(4) — labels INSIDE and OUTSIDE — both

"Every control unit and balloting unit of the voting machine used at a polling station shall bear labels, BOTH INSIDE AND OUTSIDE, marked with — (a) the serial number of the ward and name of the municipality; (b) the serial number and name of the polling station; (c) the serial number of the unit; and (d) the date of poll."

🚨 This was not in the module. Three things to hold on to —

🔴 Rule 32-B(5) — the demonstration has two limbs, not one

"Immediately before the commencement of the poll, the presiding officer shall demonstrate to the polling agents and other persons present that (a) no vote has been already recorded in the voting machine and (b) IT BEARS THE LABELS referred to in sub-rule (4)."

🚨 The second limb gets dropped. Everyone remembers "show them the zero" after the mock poll — but the rule also requires you to SHOW THEM THE LABELS. It is an act to be done before the declaration of commencement (Annexure-6 Part 1).

Rule 34-A — two points that matter at scrutiny

🔴 (7) can arise at Balotra — if two candidates share a name it must be settled before the ballot is printed. The RO should look for it at scrutiny (17.09).

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§8 — Preparing the machine — MPSV (ECIL) [MG Ch.4]

All preparation takes place at the polling station in the presence of the candidates or their polling agents.

8.1 Ballot unit — three checks

The BU has already been prepared at the Returning Officer's level. On poll day the PRO plugs the interconnecting cable into the CU and checks that —

1. The ballot paper is properly fixed under the ballot paper screen.
2. Both address tags affixed by the RO at the top and bottom of the right-hand side are in place.
3. 🚨 The ballot unit's END button stays masked. — on the MPSV this is the 16th button [MG Ch.1 box].

8.2 Control unit — the 6 steps of preparation

1. Check that the tag and seal affixed by the RO on the left of the candidate section are in place.
2. Open the rear cover of the CU; at the back of the CU connect the BU's male connector by plugging it into the female connector. A second BU's cable is connected to the connector at the back of the first BU.
3. Press the latch on the left of the result section slightly inwards and open the result section cover.
4. Open the door of the inner compartment (above the RESULT-I and RESULT-II buttons) by inserting the thumb and one finger into the two holes and pressing slightly inwards. ⚠️ Note: the inner compartment door must not be forced open.
5. Switch 'ON' — a beep sounds and the 'ON' lamp glows GREEN on the display section. Wait until the initial display is complete.
6. Press the 'CLEAR' button — the clearing operation begins and takes about 25 seconds with a beep.

8.3 The display after CLEAR (where there are 8 candidates) [MG Ch.4]

DELETING POLLED VOTES        CANDS  8 / SEATS  1
NUMBER OF POSTS 1            CANDIDATE-1  VOTES-0
TOTAL VOTERS 0               CANDIDATE-2  VOTES-0
POST 1                       CANDIDATE-3  VOTES-0
                             …to the last candidate
POLLED VOTES 0               UNFINISHED VOTERS 0
UNDER VOTES 0                END

🚨 Note: if the message 'Invalid operation' is displayed instead of the above, complete the CRC (Close, Result-1, Clear) procedure again.

This display is to satisfy the polling agents that no vote is already recorded in the machine.

8.4 MOCK POLL — 7 steps 🚨

🚨 The mandatory part [MG Ch.4-A note (1)]: "Depending on the time available there is no objection to allowing more or fewer voters to be recorded in the mock poll. Nor is it necessary that the number of votes recorded for each candidate be equal. A mock poll with a minimum of 1 vote each for every candidate including NOTA is mandatory."

8.5 Mock-poll result and CLEAR — 4 steps

Result display (MPSV):

UNDER VOTES 0 · CANDS 8 / SEATS 1 · CANDIDATE 1 VOTES 1 · CANDIDATE 2 VOTES 3 …
UNFINISHED VOTERS 0 · POLL DAY CU  RJSCU123456 · END

On pressing 'CLOSE' (at the end of the mock poll) — display sequence [MG Ch.4, printed p.20]:

CLOSING                        NUMBER OF POSTS 1
DTE 04-02-19  TME 13-49-14     TOTAL VOTERS 9
RJSCU123456                    POLL CLOSED
RJSDM111113

On pressing 'RESULT-I':

COMPUTING RESULT
RJSCU123456   →  the control unit's number
RJSDM111113   →  the SDMM's number
POLL RESULT  PDT 04-02-19          (PDT = date of poll)
PST 13-33-36  /  PET 13-49-14      (PST/PET = poll start / end time)
NUMBER OF POSTS 1 · TOTAL VOTERS 9 · POST 1 · POLLED VOTES 9

🚨 Two serial numbers — the most important check on an MPSV

🚨 Note [MG Ch.4, printed p.21]: "The serial number of the CU used in which the SDMM was fitted is shown second in the order of the above messages, and the serial number of the CU actually used on the day of poll is shown before the END in that order (POLL DAY CU RJSCU……)."

What this means: the machine records two things separately — (a) the CU in which the SDMM was commissioned, and (b) the CU actually used on poll day. If the SDMM has been put into a different CU, the two will differ — that is its traceability check.

✅ Note both numbers and the SDMM number and enter them in the head of Form 14-C and at item 5(2) of the diary. (See 07 §7.1 and 10 §5)

⚠️ Warning: do not forget to switch the CU off before sealing the result section.

8.6 Fixing the pink paper seal 🚨

• The pink paper seal is printed on special security paper and is serially numbered.
• It is fixed inside the door of the inner compartment of the RESULT SECTION, in the frame provided. A thin cardboard padding may be used to fix it firmly.
• 🚨 Fix it so that its pink surface is seen from the back and the white surface through the hole on the outside.
• Close the door so that the open ends of the seal project outward, and on folding the upper open end the serial number of the seal remains clearly visible.
• 🚨 On the pink surface of the paper seal, below the seal's serial number, the Presiding Officer shall put his full signature.
• Take the signatures of the candidates/polling agents present who wish to sign; note the serial number of the paper seal used and have the candidates/agents present note it too.

8.7 Sealing the inner door with the special tag 🚨

• Green twine thread is passed through the two holes of the inner compartment door and the hole of the special tag, knotted, and sealed with lac.
• 🚨 A damaged or broken special tag must on no account be used. If a tag is damaged during sealing, another tag is to be used.
• 🚨 Before sealing, the Presiding Officer will write the control unit's serial number on the special tag and sign it; the candidates/polling agents present may also sign if they wish.
• 🚨 After sealing, adjust the special tag so that the 'CLOSE' button remains easily available for operation.
• The special tag's form has two boxes — CU ID No. ______ and Sl. No. ______ [MG Ch.4-A figure].

8.8 Closing the outer cover of the result section

Press the outer cover shut → pass thread through the two holes given on the left of the outer cover of the RESULT cover and seal it → attach an address tag with the Presiding Officer's seal. Allow the polling agents to affix their seals on the outer cover too [MG Ch.14(2)17].

8.9 The ABCD strip seal — 5 steps 🚨

The strip seal is a long self-adhesive paper strip. Before use, the Presiding Officer shall put his full signature below the seal's serial number and also have the candidates/polling agents present who wish to sign do so.

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§9 — Preparing the machine — M3A / MK-5 (BEL/ECIL) [MG Ch.4-A]

The procedure is the same as chapter 4. Only these differences:

🚨 M3A/MK-5 notes [MG Ch.4-A]: (1) Do not switch the control unit off during the "Clear" operation. Switch it off only after all the messages displayed on the display unit have ended. (2) If no information is displayed after "Clear", it means the operations to be done before "Clear" have not been completed. Make sure the BU and CU are properly connected. Now press the "Close" button, then the "Result" button. After the displayed information ends, now press the "Clear" button.

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§10 — Setting the machine up for the actual poll [MG Ch.4 / Ch.4-A]

1. 🚨 Place the ballot unit in the voting compartment. That compartment should be at a sufficient distance from the Presiding Officer's table, where the control unit will be kept and operated by him. 🚨 The interconnecting cable between the BU and CU is five metres long. The voting compartment must therefore be made keeping the cable length in mind.

   Note: lay the cable so that voters are not obstructed and do not have to walk on it. The cable may be tied to a table leg on the control unit side and on the ballot unit side.

2. Switch the control unit on.
3. Press the 'TOTAL' button and make sure the total voters displayed is zero. Begin the poll at the fixed hour.
4. Press 'BALLOT' → 'Busy' red on the CU, 'Ready' green on the BU. When the voter presses a button, the arrow lamp glows red with a beep; when the vote is complete all go out.

   ⚠️ Warning: after the first or second voter has voted, confirm the total number of voters on the machine by pressing the Total button.

5. 🚨 Only one voter is to go into the voting compartment at a time. Voters go in the same order in which their names are entered in the voters' register. The 'BALLOT' button is to be pressed only when the previous voter has completed his vote and come out of the compartment (a long beep signals completion).
6. Press the 'TOTAL' button only when the 'Busy' lamp is off. 🚨 At the end, reconcile the number of voters entered in the voters' register with the total number of voters in the control unit.

   ⚠️ Note: do not open the cap of the Close button unnecessarily. Do not switch the CU off while the beep is sounding.

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§11 — The formalities of starting the poll [MG Ch.5(1)–(5), (7), (8) · Ch.14(3)]

11.1 Timing

• 🚨 Begin the poll exactly at the fixed hour. If the preliminary formalities are not complete, let some voters come in at the fixed hour and let the polling officers carry on with identification and the rest.
• 🚨 Even if for any reason you do not begin the poll at the fixed hour, you must not extend the hour fixed for the close of the poll.

11.2 The declarations in Annexure-6 — three occasions 🚨

This declaration is kept in a separate envelope E-10 and handed to the Returning Officer after the poll along with the ballot account and the cash accounts. [MG Ch.5(7)] Annexure-19 (the mock-poll certificate) also goes in that same envelope, attached to Annexure-6 [MG Ch.4].

11.3 What to show the agents — before the poll

1. Conduct the mock poll, show them the result, and clear the data [MG Ch.14(2)9–10]
2. That the marked copy carries no entry other than 'PB' and 'EDC' [MG Ch.14(2)21]
3. That there is no entry in the voters' register (Form 14-A) [MG Ch.14(2)22]
4. That no data is stored in the machine and no vote is already recorded [MG Ch.14(2)8]
5. Let them note the serial number of the paper seal [MG Ch.14(2)14]

11.4 Other opening instructions [MG Ch.14(3)]

• Only one polling agent of a candidate inside at a time.
• Courtesy and respect towards the observer appointed by the Commission — they will be wearing the Commission's badge and will also carry a letter of appointment.
• Smoking is prohibited in the polling station.
• 🚨 Do not give special treatment or importance to any special or well-known person. No special importance is to be given when a VIP comes to vote, nor should you shake hands [MG Ch.5(9)2].

11.5 Precautions with the indelible ink [MG Ch.5(3)] 🚨

• Shake the phial well before use.
• 🚨 Keep the phial so that it does not tip and spill during the poll — take some earth in a cup or an empty cigarette tin (ash tray) or a wide-bottomed vessel and sink the phial into the earth up to three-quarters of its length in the middle of the vessel so that it stands firm.
• 🚨 The plastic rod attached to the cork should stay in the phial and should not be taken out except to mark the voter's index finger. The rod should always be kept with its marking end downward, otherwise the ink may drip and spoil the user's fingers.

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§12 — Observing the election law in and around the polling station [MG Ch.5(9)–(11)]

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§13 — One-page summary — before the poll

while taking the material   →  check against Annexure-4 · the machine's 7 points · 3 copies of the roll
                               serial numbers of tendered ballots · specimen signatures of candidates
                               only 'PB' and 'EDC' in the marked copy

postal ballot / EDC         →  same ward = Form 15 (EDC) · other ward/municipality = Form 15-A
                               apply at least 4 days before the poll

arrive one hour early       →  model layout · separate entry/exit · notice + candidate list outside
                               BU in the compartment (5 m cable) · CU on your table

prepare the machine (MPSV)  →  BU: ballot fixed, address tags, END masked
                               CU: connect, open result section, ON, CLEAR (~25 s)
                               mock poll: slip → collect → BALLOT → min 1 vote each INCLUDING NOTA
                               → match with the paper record → CLOSE → RESULT-I → note BOTH CU serials
                               → CLEAR → switch OFF → Annexure-19 certificate → diary item 30
                               → pink paper seal (signature below the serial) → special tag (CU no.)
                               → outer cover + address tag → ABCD strip seal

before starting             →  Annexure-6 declaration + read out s.128 aloud → agents' signatures
                               (record the names of those who refuse) → TOTAL shows zero → begin at the hour