After an extensive 129-day Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Karnataka has officially published its final electoral roll. The comprehensive exercise has significantly altered the state's voter count, with the final tally standing at 4,55,00,011 electors. This represents a reduction of nearly 99.32 lakh voters compared to the 5,54,32,314 individuals registered before the revision began.
The revision process was dynamic: while the initial draft list had excluded more than 1.07 crore names, the final roll saw 8.64 lakh new voters successfully added. This intensive update aimed to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the state's voter database.
Key Statistics from the Revised Roll
The updated electoral roll provides a detailed demographic breakdown:
- Total Voters: 4,55,00,011
- Gender Distribution: Over 2.25 crore men, 2.29 crore women, and 2,841 third-gender voters.
- Young Voters: More than 6.83 lakh electors are aged 18 or 19 years.
- Senior Citizens: Over 3.92 lakh individuals are aged above 85.
Reasons for Voter Roll Deletions
The significant reduction in voter numbers stems from various classifications identified during the SIR exercise. The draft roll, published on August 24, had initially categorized about 20 percent of the state's voters under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate, and Others (ASDDO) classification.
The primary reasons for exclusion from the draft roll included:
- Shifted or Untraceable: 80.62 lakh names were removed for voters who had either permanently shifted residence (65.45 lakh) or could not be found during enumeration.
- Deceased: 16.39 lakh entries were deleted due to voters being recorded as dead.
- Duplicates: Over 7 lakh names were removed as duplicate entries.
- Other Categories: An additional 3.83 lakh names fell under miscellaneous 'Others' categories.
Individuals whose names were removed under the 'shifted or untraceable' category had the opportunity to re-apply for inclusion by submitting Form 6 applications. Election authorities received 7,87,534 such applications, including those from new voters, between June 16 and September 23.
The Intensive Revision Process
The Special Intensive Revision in Karnataka commenced on June 20, involving a massive deployment of personnel. This included 59,050 booth-level officers (BLOs), 332 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), and 224 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). District Commissioners were designated as District Election Officers.
Recognized political parties also played a role, appointing 1.33 lakh booth-level agents during the enumeration phase to assist voters and facilitate the objection process.
The enumeration phase, initially set to end on July 29, received two extensions due to the large volume of voters requiring ASDDO classification, finally concluding after a total of 20 additional days.
How to Verify Your Voter Status
Voters in Karnataka can easily check their inclusion in the final electoral roll through several official channels:
- Chief Electoral Officer's Website: Constituency-wise rolls are available for download in PDF format.
- Election Commission's Electoral Search Portal: Voters can use the "Search by EPIC" option, entering their voter ID number, selecting Karnataka, and completing a captcha.
- ECINet App: The app allows verification using the voter's EPIC number.
If the electoral search portal displays "No Result Found," voters are advised to first cross-verify details in the official PDF rolls or contact election authorities before concluding their names have been deleted. It is important to note that many voters' part and serial numbers were updated when the draft rolls were published, so checking revised details is crucial.