Missing From the Voter List? EC Has Another Chance for Electors in 7 States

The Election Commission (EC) has decided to give another opportunity to eligible voters who were left out of the draft electoral rolls in seven states during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

The decision applies to electors in Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana and Nagaland who were categorised as Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate (ASDD) during the revision process.

According to the EC's directions issued on Friday, the fresh opportunity will cover cases where Enumeration Forms were issued to electors but were not received back, resulting in their names being excluded from the draft electoral rolls.

The move is aimed at ensuring that eligible voters are not denied their right to be included in the final electoral rolls because of procedural issues or difficulties in completing the enumeration process.

The Commission has also instructed officials to establish a monitoring mechanism to oversee the exercise and ensure that no eligible elector is left out of the Final Electoral Roll.

At the same time, the EC has stressed the need to prevent duplicate enrolments while carrying out the process, indicating that efforts to include eligible voters must go hand in hand with maintaining the accuracy of electoral records.

The latest directions come amid the ongoing SIR exercise, through which the poll panel is undertaking a comprehensive revision of voter lists to identify eligible electors and remove discrepancies.