Bengaluru: The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Karnataka, has said that a media report on 803 voter ID cards being linked to 397 names after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls reflects two distinct procedural situations that arose during data processing, and that the cases have been referred to election officials for verification and remedial action.
In a press note dated November 7, the CEO’s office said it had taken note of the report headlined “803 Voter IDs Linked to 397 Names After SIR” and clarified the circumstances behind it.
According to the office, some applicants submitted multiple Form 6 applications through the Citizen Service Portal during the SIR. Because these submissions were processed independently, multiple Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers were inadvertently generated for the same person.
In other cases, Form 8 applications for shifting residence were approved and the electors’ entries were added to the rolls of their new Assembly constituencies, but the corresponding Form 7 applications to delete their entries from the previous constituencies remained pending. This happened because electoral roll operations were frozen, as required by law, for the final publication of the roll, the office said.
The existence of multiple EPIC numbers for single electors, and of identical EPICs appearing in two constituencies, is a direct result of these application-processing workflows, it said.
The cases have already been referred to the District Election Officers, Additional District Election Officers and Electoral Registration Officers concerned for rigorous verification and necessary remedial action in strict accordance with the law, the press note said. The Election Commission remains committed to ensuring the accuracy, transparency and integrity of the electoral rolls, it added.
Karnataka’s final electoral roll was published on October 27 with 4.55 crore electors.
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