Bihar assembly polls: electoral commission to introduce color photos, larger police on EVM voting bulletins

The India Electoral Commission (ECI) has announced significant changes to the design and printing of electronic voting ballots of the voting machine (EVM) to make them clearer and more suitable for voters, starting with the elections of the Bihar assembly planned for October-November 2025.

The ECI said, according to the directives published, that color photographs will now be displayed on the EVM voting bulletins on September 17, reported the PTI news agency.

This marks a gap in relation to the existing practice of black and white images, introduced in 2015, that many voters found it difficult to recognize.

“Now, photographs of candidates will be printed in color on the EVM ballot. The candidate’s face will occupy three -quarters of the photo space for better visibility,” said the commission.

The ballot authority has also highlighted the modifications of how the names and figures will appear on the ballots.

The serial numbers of candidates and the none of the above (Note) option will be printed in the international form of Indian figures, according to PTI.

Improving clarity, the CE confirmed that the size of the police will be 30 and in bold.

The ECI declaration has also said that the ballots for EVM will be printed on 70 GSM paper for sustainability. For assembly elections, pink sheets with specified “RGB values” will be used.