The draft electoral roll in Kerala has revealed that about 24.08 lakh voters are missing in the preliminary list. The draft rolls have been made public before the upcoming election. There are apprehensions among the people as well as political parties about the delay in the correction of the discrepancies in the electoral roll.
Reasons for the Many Missing Names
As reported by the State Election Commission (SEC), the revised draft list of voters includes a comprehensive review of existing electors and removal of duplications, ineligible persons and unsuccessful verifications and has been developed by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Kerala.
The key justifications for removal are:
- Duplicate entries, with the same person listed more than once.
- Deaths not updated in previous rolls.
- Individuals who have relocated outside the constituency without updating their address.
- Age verification inconsistencies, where voters had not attained the age of 18 years.
Although this pruning is quite common in every major overhaul to enhance accuracy in elections, the extent of pruning has recently invoked public interest in view of Kerala’s politically conscious electorate.
What Voters Should Know About Enrollment Checks
The draft electoral roll was published as part of the process of annual summary revision conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The voters can now:
- Check names online via the CEO Kerala official website or the Voter Helpline mobile app.
- Use the EPIC (Elector’s Photo Identity Card) Number or Name and Date of Birth to Search the Draft Electoral Rolls
- File claims and objections if one’s name is not, is incorrectly spelt, is a duplicate, or if information is not up-to-date.
Process of claims & objections: This process is open for a short period of time, after which citizens are allowed to make corrections through booth-level officers (BLOs) in person or through the ECI’s National Voters’ Services Portal.
Political & Administrative Reactions
Political parties in Kerala have been sensitive to the number of removals in this regard because of the following reasons:
- Opposition parties: The extent to which deletions could affect representation among voters, including important constituencies, is causing the opposition to push for a longer timeframe for objections.
- Supporters of the ruling party argue that a clean and accurate electoral roll is critical in order to facilitate free and fair elections and that purging names that are no longer valid contributes positively towards that goal.
The officials of the SEC have reiterated that being removed from a list for the draft does not mean the removal is final—voters can still have their names restored to the list before the final list is put out if objections are confirmed.
The Kerala Elections at Stake
Kerala has high voter turnout, and citizens are actively involved in elections at all levels. Maintenance of an updated voters’ roll is of major significance because:
- The Act defines who shall vote in forthcoming elections for assemblies and local bodies.
- Misrecorded or unrecorded entries can result in disenfranchisement, especially among young electors, immigrants, and
- Clean rolls help avoid the risk of electoral malpractice, thus improving the credibility of democracy.
The Election Commission has the goal of finalising the electoral roll well prior to the next elections, incorporating the corrections gained from the draft stage.
The fact that over 24 lakh names have been excluded from the Kerala draft electoral roll points towards the magnitude of the data cleansing operation that is underway in Kerala, as well as the significance of voter awareness and involvement with respect to the draft electoral roll. Though it may seem alarming if one looks at the magnitude, it is important to note that it is merely a work document.
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