EC to resolve voter ID duplication issue

New Delhi

The Election Commission has assured that steps will be taken to fix duplicate voter ID numbers and enhance its digital platform to prevent such errors in the future. Addressing concerns about some electors in different states having the same voter ID number, the commission clarified that this does not mean fake voters exist.

It explained that while some elector photo identity card (EPIC) numbers “may be identical,” all other details, such as demographics, assembly constituency, and polling booth, are different. "Irrespective of the EPIC number, any elector can cast a vote only at their designated polling station in their respective constituency in their state or Union territory where they are enrolled in the electoral roll and nowhere else," the commission stated.

The issue arose due to a previous “decentralised and manual mechanism” before all states' electoral roll databases were moved to the ERONET (Electoral Roll Management) platform. This resulted in some state election officers assigning the same EPIC series to different voters, leading to duplication. ERONET was introduced to streamline voter records by removing duplicate entries and registering migrated electors.

To address this, the commission has decided to assign unique EPIC numbers to all voters. "Any case of duplicate EPIC number will be rectified by allotting a unique EPIC number," it said. The EC also announced plans to upgrade the ERONET 2.0 platform to enhance accuracy and efficiency in managing voter records.