CH NEWS
BENGALURU
Amid concerns from voters unable to locate their own or their parents’ names in the 2002 electoral roll, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Anbukkumar has urged them to submit their signed Special Intensive Revision (SIR) enumeration forms with the available information to ensure their names are considered for inclusion in the electoral rolls.
Election Commission officials said submitting a signed enumeration form to the Booth Level Officer (BLO), even if some details are unavailable, is the best way to ensure inclusion in the draft electoral rolls, which are scheduled to be published on August 5.
Officials clarified that voters would still have an opportunity to verify their details and seek corrections after the draft rolls are published if discrepancies are noticed.
The Election Commission has already completed more than 90 per cent of voter mapping through a tabletop exercise linking electors listed in the 2002 electoral roll with family members who subsequently became eligible to vote. Officials said this exercise would minimise inconsistencies during the verification process.
For cases where a voter’s or parent’s details are unavailable or do not match official records, the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) will issue written notices after publication of the draft rolls. Such voters will be asked to produce supporting documents listed on the reverse of the enumeration form. The ERO will examine the documents before taking a decision on each case.
As of Friday, nearly 89 per cent of the State’s 5.5 crore enumeration forms had been distributed. More than 51 per cent of the State’s 59,050 polling booths achieved 100 per cent distribution of forms.
However, the response from voters has been slower. Only 19.3 per cent of the distributed forms have been filled and digitised so far, while online submissions account for just 0.3 per cent, mainly because of mismatches between Aadhaar and voter ID details.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has identified over 3.3 lakh electors as absent, untraceable, shifted, deceased, duplicate or falling under the “others” category during the verification exercise.
Officials said these cases would be shared with recognised political parties through Booth Level Agents (BLA-2s) for field verification before the electoral rolls are finalised.