More than half of the electorate in most states may not need to provide any documentation, as they will already be included in the electoral roll from the last special intensive revision (SIR) conducted in their respective states, Election Commission officials announced on Wednesday.
They noted that the majority of states underwent their most recent special intensive revision of voter lists between 2002 and 2004, and that year will serve as the cut-off date for the upcoming SIR.
The Election Commission is set to determine a date soon for initiating a nationwide special intensive revision, with the process to update and cleanse voter lists across states potentially occurring before the year’s end, according to earlier statements from officials.
Chief electoral officers have been instructed to prepare the electoral rolls from their states, published following the previous SIR. Some state chief electoral officers have already made these voter lists, from after their last SIR, available on their websites.
The Delhi Chief Electoral Officer’s website displays the 2008 voter list, reflecting the last intensive revision conducted in the national capital. In Uttarakhand, the most recent SIR occurred in 2006, and that year’s electoral roll is now accessible on the state CEO’s website.
The last SIR conducted in each state will act as the cut-off date, similar to how the 2003 voter list in Bihar is being used by the Election Commission for its current intensive revision.
According to guidelines issued by the poll authority to its Bihar election machinery, the 4.96 crore voters—equating to 60 per cent of the total electorate—listed in the 2003 special intensive revision are not required to submit any supporting documents to verify their date or place of birth, except for the relevant section of the electoral roll published after that revision.
The remaining three crore voters—approximately 40 pc —will need to provide one of 12 specified documents to confirm their place or date of birth.
A new ‘declaration form’ has been introduced for a specific group of applicants seeking to register as electors or those transferring from outside the state. These individuals must provide an undertaking confirming they were born in India before 1 July 1987 and submit a document verifying their date and/or place of birth.
One option listed in the declaration form is for those born in India between 1 July 1987 and 2 December 2004. Such individuals will also need to provide documents verifying the date and/or place of birth of their parents.
The SIR in poll-bound Bihar has faced criticism from opposition parties, who have questioned the timing of the exercise and argued that millions of eligible citizens could be denied their voting rights due to a lack of required documents. The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to ensure that no eligible citizen is excluded from the process.
