NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has given voters whose names were missing from the draft electoral rolls a fresh opportunity to be included in the final rolls. The facility, issued as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive, applies to those who lost their place in the draft list because they were absent, had shifted address, were deceased, or were flagged as duplicates.
The Commission has issued directions to the Chief Electoral Officers of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand and Nagaland. In Telangana alone, more than 73 lakh voters appear on the list of absent, shifted, dead and duplicate (ASD) entries, making the latest decision a significant relief for them.
The Commission has also relaxed its earlier stringent requirements and issued simpler guidelines. The mandatory Form-6 requirement has been eased, and voters now need only submit a short statement along with the enumeration form. Voters who have not changed address may submit a signed form explaining why they could not file the enumeration form earlier, either to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or the Booth Level Officer (BLO). The form can also be submitted online through e-sign.
Voters who have moved to another location within the same state are no longer required to fill Form-8. They may submit the enumeration form with their new address and assembly constituency details, along with address proof. For homeless voters who have no documents, the BLO’s field verification report will be accepted as proof of residence.