Parents’ electoral roll details mandatory for new online voter registrations: What it means

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The Election Commission (EC) has made it mandatory for people applying for inclusion in the electoral rolls online to provide details of their parents’ status in the last Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

The requirement has been incorporated into the online version of Form 6, according to EC officials.

Form 6 is the prescribed application form used by first-time voters, newly eligible citizens and individuals seeking re-enrolment after their names were deleted from the electoral rolls.

New declaration added to Form 6

According to EC officials, applicants can no longer submit Form 6 online without completing a new declaration section, PTI reported. The declaration requires applicants to state whether they or their parents were listed in the electoral rolls prepared under the previous SIR exercise.

The requirement has been introduced through administrative instructions, although the statutory form has not yet been amended through a gazette notification.

What applicants need to declare

The declaration asks applicants to indicate whether their own name, the name of a parent or grandparent, or neither appeared in the electoral rolls prepared during the previous SIR exercise, India Today reported.

Those selecting the first two options must provide details such as the Assembly constituency, polling station and serial number from the earlier electoral roll. Applicants who do not have this information can choose the third option, although the portal does not specify its implications.

Why the change was introduced

According to an EC official, the declaration was first introduced during the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and has since been adopted for voter registration in states and Union Territories where similar exercises have been carried out.

“Daily SIR bulletins of Bihar showed the form filled along with declarations,” an EC functionary was quoted as saying by PTI. The declaration helps link new applicants with existing electoral records and can reduce the number of supporting documents required during voter registration.

Part of wider electoral roll revision

The latest requirement comes as the Election Commission continues Special Intensive Revision exercises across the country to identify eligible voters and remove duplicate, deceased, shifted, absent and foreign electors from voter lists.

The exercise has already been completed in states including Bihar, West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, while it is underway in several other states and Union Territories.

(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)