Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Sep 11: As part of its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) programme, the Election Commission has issued notices to nearly 24.97 lac voters across Karnataka to rectify mapping issues and data discrepancies.
The office of the chief electoral officer clarified on Friday that several voters had raised concerns after not finding their names in their usual sections in the new draft electoral roll. The office stated that because polling stations have been reorganised and voter list numbers reset, individual section and serial numbers might have changed. Citizens have been advised to verify their active status using their EPIC numbers on the voters.eci.gov.in portal or the ECINET mobile application, rather than relying on their previous section lists.
According to official data up to September 10, the state’s electoral roll comprises 4,46,58,413 voters, including 2.21 crore men, 2.24 crore women, and 2,874 transgender individuals.
During the SIR process, authorities flagged several entries under the categories of 'no mapping' and 'anomalies'. Consequently, 43,81,760 notices were drafted statewide. Officials have successfully delivered 24,97,075 (56.99 per cent) of these notices, while over 18.84 lac are still pending delivery.
Of the individuals who received notices, hearings for 7,03,710 (28.18 per cent) have already been completed. The remaining 17.93 lac hearings are scheduled to conclude by September 12, with the final disposal of all claims and objections slated for September 22.
Following requests from recognised political parties, lists of individuals served with these notices were made public on the CEO's website on September 5, alongside details of claims and objections received from the public.
To ensure the process is streamlined, the chief electoral officer held a video conference with all district electoral officers and electoral registration officers earlier this week, instructing them to expedite notice deliveries and complete the hearings promptly.
In a fresh reminder issued to all district electoral officers on Friday, September 11, the CEO directed them to adopt a citizen-friendly approach for vulnerable groups. For notices served to senior citizens, persons with disabilities, ailing individuals, or overseas voters, an adult family member can now appear in person on their behalf with the necessary documents to resolve the anomalies.
Furthermore, the Election Commission of India will conduct a second special drive for voter registration across the state on September 19 and 20.