New Delhi, March 21 -- The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday announced the completion of the first randomisation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) for the upcoming 2026 assembly elections scheduled to be in Assam, Kerala, and Puducherry.

According to a press release issued by the ECI, the first randomisation was conducted through the EVM Management System (EMS) by District Election Officers (DEOs) in the presence of representatives from both national and state-recognised political parties.

The ECI further clarified that the allotment of EVMs to their respective polling stations was conducted through a structured two-stage randomisation process.

In the primary stage, EVMs ...