UP CEO Warns DEOs of Action Over Voter Roll Errors, Pending Applications

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office has warned District Election Officers (DEOs) of possible action over errors in electoral rolls, delays in processing voter applications and lapses in supervision, directing them to monitor all related work daily through the ECI-Net platform.

In a post on X on Friday, the CEO's office said accurate, error-free and updated electoral rolls were essential to the democratic process. Citing the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and Election Commission of India guidelines, it said DEOs bore overall administrative and supervisory responsibility for voter list-related work.

DEOs have been instructed to review applications for new voter registration, overseas voter registration, deletion of names, corrections and changes in residence. No application should remain unnecessarily pending at any stage, including with Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs).

Applications assigned to the wrong officials must be redirected immediately, while those concerning another district should be forwarded without delay. Reasons for unexplained delays, inactive logins and other lapses must be ascertained, with necessary corrective or punitive action taken.

The directions also require DEOs to verify the profiles of subordinate election officials, including Booth Level Officers (BLOs), and check their last-login status. Sharing login credentials, passwords and one-time passwords (OTPs) has been prohibited.

Complaints concerning electoral rolls and Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPICs), received through the National Grievance Service Portal and other channels, must be resolved promptly. DEOs must conduct sample checks to ensure responses address citizens' grievances and hold weekly review meetings to assess pending cases.

The CEO's office also stressed compliance with the 48-hour deadline for the 'Book a Call with BLO' facility available on ECI-Net and the voters.eci.gov.in portal. Strict action will be taken against BLOs who fail to contact citizens within the stipulated period or falsely mark requests as 'contacted' or 'unavailable'.

The office said all voter list-related tasks must be completed accurately within prescribed timelines and in accordance with Election Commission instructions.