HARDWARE DESCRIPTION

The voting machine circuit being described here is designed around Intels basic 8085microprocessor. It has two main units: (i) Control and processing unit, and (ii) Keyboard and display unit. Keyboard and display are interfaced through a general-purpose programmable peripheral interface PPI) IC 8255. The system monitor programs are stored in 2732 EPROM.RAM 6116 is used for storing counts and a portion of it is also used as stack. IC 74LS373 (octal D-type latch) is used for segregating he lower order address bits from multiplexed address/data bus of 8085. Two of the higher order bits are decoded by 74LS138 to generate chip select signals for IC4 through IC6. To get an overview of the voting machine, we shall start with the explanation of the functional switches.

Start switch (S48): When the circuit is initially powered on, it is in reset
state due to the auto reset facility. If we want to activate the system, we press the start button. This causes the SCR to conduct and take RS pin 36 of 8085 to logic high. As a result 8085microprocessor becomes active. In this state, the microprocessor will execute the booting program (starting at location/address 0000H).

Clear Switch (S52):

This switch is used for clearing the previous count in memory. When pressed, the RST 5.5 interrupt starting at location 002CH is activated. Here the vector (0100H) pointing to the sub-routine for clearing the memory contents is stored.

Display Switch (S50):

This switch activates RST 7.5 interrupt (location 003CH) containing vector for executing display routine used for displaying the count of the votes polled by any candidate. If one wants to see the count of a specific candidate, display switch is pressed first, followed by the depression of the switch on the keyboard allocated to the specific candidate.

Count Switch (S51):

This switch activates RST 6.5 interrupt (location 0034H, containing the jump address 00B6 for count subroutine) for activating the microprocessor to accept only one vote for a candidate, by depressing the keyboard switch allocated to that candidate.

Reset Switch (S49):

If any malfunctioning is observed during the operation of the voting machine, the RESET switch can be used to shut down the system. This voting machine has the capability to handle up to 48 candidates. Each

switch on the keyboard represents one specific candidate. If one does not need all the 48 switches, only the required number of switches needs to be wired. The remaining keyboard switches can be done away with. In this unit, LED D4 is used to indicate that the system is ready for accepting the next (one) vote.

MATERIALS REQUIRED:
SEMICONDUCTORS:
IC1 - 8085A microprocessor IC2 - 74LS373 octal latch IC3 - 74LS138 decoder/demultiplexer IC4 - 27C32 EEPROM IC5 - 6116A RAM IC6 - 82C55 programmable peripheral interface IC7 - 74LS47, BCD to 7-segment decoder/driver IC8 - 7805, +5V regulator T1-T4 - BC547 NPN transistor D1, D3 - 1N4001 rectifier diode D2, D4 Colour LEDSCR1 - BT169

RESISTORS (ALL W, 5% METAL CARBON FILM, UNLESS STATED OTHERWISE)

R1-R3 - 330-ohm R4-R11 - 3.3-kilo-ohm R12 - 47-ohm R13, R22, R23 - 2.2-kilo-ohm R14 - 680-ohm R15-R21 - 68-ohm

CAPACITORS:
C1 - 10pF ceramic disc C2 - 0.1F ceramic disc

MISCELLANEOUS:
Xtal - 3.58MHz crystal S53 - On/off switch S0-S52 - Tactile switch P21 - Piezo buzzer DIS1-DIS4 - LT542 common-anode display 4.5V battery

OPERATING PROCEDURE
1. Switch on the power, using switch S53. 2. Press start button. 3. A software-based security feature has been added in this system which requires one to enter the password digits via the keyboard for getting access to the machine for its operation. (The maximum length of password is seven digits, but it can be changed by adjusting some values in the system software.) At present, only three-digit password is used. If the password digits entered via keyboard equal the password stored in the EPROM, LED D2 glows to give access for operation of the machine. 4. If the entered password is incorrect, press RESET button (S49) and proceed again from the first step. 5. Clear the previous content of count memory by pressing clear button (S52).Clearance of memory is indicated by symbol : in the display. 6. Now press count switch S51. The display of symbol * and the glowing of LEDD4 would mean that the system is ready for accepting one vote. (Please note that the count switch is placed under the control of electoral staff so that it is satisfied with the identity of the voter before allowing him/her to cast his/her vote.) 7. Now, the voter can cast his/her vote by pressing the appropriate keyboard switch allocated to the candidate of his/her choice. The acceptance of the vote by the system is acknowledged by a beep sound as well as the display of the [ symbol in the display and off condition of LED D4. 8. Steps 6 and 7 have to be repeated for casting a fresh vote. 9. If the count of any particular candidates votes (count) is needed to be displayed, press display switch and then the switch corresponding to the specific candidate on the keyboard. 10. Reset the system. 11. Switch off the system.

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAM OF THE ELECTRONIC VOTING MACHINE