EC gives voters left out of SIR draft rolls ‘one more opportunity’ to re-enrol; restores old EPIC numbers

New Delhi: Amid large-scale deletions of voters' names from draft electoral rolls in several states undergoing SIR Phase 3, the Election Commission will give "one more opportunity" for re-enrolment to all voters who were left out after being marked Absent/Shifted/Dead/Duplicate (ASDD).

They will be able to submit enumeration forms to establish their eligibility and apply for re-inclusion. Approved electors will have their original pre-SIR EPIC numbers restored upon inclusion in the final roll, the EC said on Friday.

The directions will apply to the seven SIR Phase 3 states - Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana and Nagaland - which have published their draft electoral rolls but have been given extended timelines owing to the high number of notices issued and growing concerns over voter exclusion, particularly in urban centres.


Among SIR 3.0 states, Delhi has recorded the highest deletion at 32.7%, while Maharashtra has removed 21.16% (2.07 cr) names. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh recorded 21.7% and 10.78% deletions, respectively, in their draft rolls.

Chief Electoral Officers have also been asked to proactively reach out to such voters, as per an EC direction issued on Friday.

Under the new guidelines, election authorities must republish booth-wise lists of all excluded ASDD voters, along with the specific reasons for their non-inclusion. These lists will be displayed on notice boards at local polling stations, Panchayat Bhawans and Urban Local Body (ULB) offices, besides being uploaded in downloadable PDF formats on the respective Chief Electoral Officers' (CEOs) websites.

To ensure maximum outreach, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been instructed to conduct door-to-door visits in coordination with political party agents (BLAs) and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) to contact left-out citizens directly.

The Commission has also categorised submission procedures based on the status of electors to streamline processing.

Voters whose names may have been deleted from the draft roll despite continuing to reside at their original addresses must submit a pre-filled Enumeration Form along with Annexure-B, explaining the reasons for prior non-submission. The documents can be submitted physically to local election staff or digitally on the ECINET portal using e-sign.

Voters who have relocated within the same state no longer need to file Form-8. They can directly submit Annexure-A along with Annexure-C, declaring their new address and Assembly Constituency, to the ERO of their new area. They can also use digital facilities such as the ECI's "Book a Call with BLO" service.

For individuals lacking formal proof of residence, particularly homeless persons, an official field verification report conducted by the BLO will serve as sufficient proof of address.

The poll panel, however, has emphasised that all applications received will undergo formal verification by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) under Rule 21(1) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

State election authorities have been directed to launch public awareness campaigns through local media, social media platforms and public announcements (Munadi) to reach out to such voters. They have also been asked to exercise due care "to avoid duplication in enrolment" during the process.