Elon Musk lauds India's vote-counting mechanism, takes dig at US elections

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Musk praised India's capability to count 640 million votes in the short span of a day after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and pointed out the slow vote tallying in California for the US presidential elections, which is still incomplete even after 20 days after voting began on November 5.

Replying to a post that highlighted India’s prowess in vote counting fast and efficiently with 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 held its Lok Sabha elections earlier this year, engaging over 900 million eligible voters. Of these, an unprecedented 642 million cast their ballots, marking a record turnout. Despite the immense scale of the process, results were announced within a single day of counting.

Efficient counting mechanisms in India can be attributed to Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), which have in use since 2000. It is well known EVMs facilitate swift and precise vote counting. Though the losing parties often shift the blame for their failures to the EVM.

In order to reinforce the credibility of EVMs, Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) was introduced.

To bolster transparency, the VVPAT system generates a paper slip for each vote, enabling verification when necessary.

Counting is conducted simultaneously across India's 543 parliamentary constituencies under the supervision of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Following Supreme Court guidelines, postal ballots are counted first, before unsealing EVMs.

Votes are tallied at centralised locations under the Returning Officers' oversight, with results declared after each round.

During recent state elections in Maharashtra and Jharkhand, India processed nearly 90 million votes within hours.

Maharashtra, with a population four times larger than California's, showcased exceptional efficiency in delivering results.

In the United States, vote counting often extends over weeks, particularly in states like California.

Following the November 5 presidential election, California faced delays with over 300,000 ballots still uncounted weeks later, prompting criticism from public figures like Elon Musk, as well as voters and analysts questioning the system’s effectiveness.

California primarily conducts elections by mail, involving labour-intensive steps such as signature verification on ballot envelopes and sorting before ballots can be tallied.

Unlike India’s centralised management by the ECI, the U.S. relies on state and local election offices, each operating under unique laws and resources, that lead to inconsistencies and delays in the vote-counting process.