EC gives voters dropped from SIR draft rolls one more chance in Delhi and six states: what to do now

According to the Commission's direction:

• lists of electors marked Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate are to be displayed afresh;
• Booth Level Officers must contact these electors and help them, including with online submission through the ECINET platform;
• special provisions apply to electors who have shifted residence within the state and to homeless persons;
• officials must set up a monitoring mechanism so that no eligible elector is left out while duplicate enrolments are prevented;
• there must be wide publicity, and an action-taken report must be submitted.

The Commission has not said, in the account available, how long the new window will remain open in each state, and the letter itself was not on its website at the time of writing. Dates may therefore differ from state to state. Voters should check with the Chief Electoral Officer's office or their Booth Level Officer.

Why it matters

The size of these lists is the reason this matters. Delhi offers the clearest official numbers. When its draft roll was published on 31 August, the Chief Electoral Officer's office said that, out of 1 crore 45 lakh 10 thousand 299 electors, 97 lakh 53 thousand 577 had submitted forms. Enumeration forms could not be collected from 47 lakh 56 thousand 722 electors marked absent, shifted, dead or duplicate during house-to-house visits.

That is about one in three names on Delhi's earlier roll. Some of those entries will be genuine removals: people who have died, moved away or were registered twice. A clean roll is a legitimate aim, and the Commission has stressed that no ineligible person should remain on it. But in a city of renters and migrants, it is easy to see how a person who was at work during a visit, or who moved a few streets away, could be marked absent or shifted while still being a valid voter.

The direction for electors who moved within the state speaks to that problem. So does the mention of homeless persons, who have no fixed address for an officer to visit and who are among the easiest people to lose in a door-to-door exercise.

Critics of the Special Intensive Revision have argued throughout that the burden of proof falls too heavily on the poor and on people who move for work, and that large deletions can change the electorate in ways that are hard to reverse. However, the Commission's stated position is that the process is transparent, participative and inclusive, with the aim that no eligible citizen is left out. This latest direction can be read both ways: as a sign that the safeguards work, or as an admission that the first round left too many people behind.

The timing matters as well. In Delhi, the revised schedule announced in September set 30 October as the last date for claims and objections, 30 November for the end of the notice phase and 4 December for the final roll. The claims date had passed when this new window opened, so without it many people would have had no simple route back.

What voters should do

Those who may be affected can take a few steps now.

Check the list. Look for the fresh display of names at the polling station location or on the Chief Electoral Officer's website, and search the draft roll for your name. In Delhi the draft roll is on ceodelhi.gov.in.

Fill the form. If your name is on the absent, shifted, dead or duplicate list and you are an eligible elector, submit your Enumeration Form through your Booth Level Officer or online through ECINET.

If you moved within the state, tell the officer, since special provisions apply to you.

If you were wrongly marked dead, act quickly and keep a copy of whatever you submit.

If you were never on the roll, this window is not for you. New voters use Form 6, for which special camps have been held in Delhi.

Keep a receipt, screenshot or acknowledgement in every case, and check the final roll when it is published.

The Commission has asked for an action-taken report, so a further statement of how many names were restored may follow. That number will be the real measure of this step. If a substantial share of those marked absent or shifted come back, the concern about wrongful deletion will be seen to have been justified. If very few do, the Commission will say that its lists were largely right.

For Delhi, Maharashtra and the other five, the final rolls will shape the next elections in each place. Being on the list is the first condition of taking part in them.