Karnataka: Special voter roll revision to begin from June 30

Bengaluru: The Election Commission of India (ECI) will launch the third phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls from June 30, with booth-level officers (BLOs) set to conduct door-to-door verification of voters across Karnataka and several other states.

The month-long exercise, scheduled to continue till July 29, aims to update electoral rolls by identifying eligible voters, removing duplicate or ineligible entries, and ensuring the accuracy of voter records. Officials will verify voter details during household visits, including matching voter identity cards with Aadhaar and other available records.

As part of the revision process, BLOs will visit every household in their respective polling areas. Voters who are unavailable during verification or have permanently shifted to another location may be marked for further verification, and electoral roll updates will be carried out in accordance with the Election Commission’s prescribed procedures.

Citizens who have turned 18 years of age or are yet to enrol as voters can submit Form 6 to register their names in the electoral roll. Existing voters seeking corrections in their name, age, address or those wishing to transfer their registration to another constituency can apply through Form 8 .

According to the schedule, the door-to-door verification will be carried out between June 30 and July 29. The draft electoral roll is expected to be published on August 5, while the final electoral roll will be released on October 7 after the disposal of all claims and objections.

The Special Intensive Revision will be undertaken simultaneously in Karnataka, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Arunachal Pradesh and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

The Election Commission has stated that the exercise is intended to improve the accuracy and integrity of electoral rolls. Political parties and civil society groups have, however, expressed differing views on aspects of the revision process in various states. The Supreme Court has considered challenges relating to the exercise in different contexts, while the Election Commission maintains that the revision is being conducted in accordance with constitutional and legal provisions.

Officials have urged all eligible voters to cooperate with booth-level officers during the verification process and ensure that their electoral details are accurate and up to date.