AP Election Commission to Re-Verify 46.62 Lakh Voter Names Removed from Draft Rolls

The Election Commission of India will undertake a special verification drive to re-examine the details of more than 46.62 lakh voters whose names were removed from the draft electoral rolls in Andhra Pradesh. The exercise began on October 8, Chief Electoral Officer Vivek Yadav said, adding that eligible voters whose names were inadvertently deleted would be given an opportunity to get them restored in accordance with electoral rules.

More than 44.8 lakh names were removed during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) carried out between June 15 and July 24. The deletions followed a house-to-house enumeration during which several voters could not be found at their registered addresses. According to the CEO, the reasons included deaths, permanent migration, multiple registrations and untraceable voters.

Following the publication of the draft electoral roll and the subsequent notice process, another 1.73 lakh individuals were identified by October 6 as ineligible for inclusion in the final electoral roll. Taking both categories into account, the Election Commission has decided to verify the details of 46,62,583 voters as part of the special exercise.

Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit households within their respective polling station areas and cross-check the details of voters whose names were removed. The exercise is aimed at identifying cases where eligible voters may have been left out inadvertently.

If an eligible voter is found to have been wrongly excluded, the concerned person will be facilitated in submitting Form-6 along with the required documents. After verification, the name can be added to the electoral roll through the Continuous Updation process.

Yadav said the Election Commission’s objective was to ensure that no eligible voter is excluded, while also removing names that do not meet the eligibility requirements.

The draft electoral roll, published on July 31 after the initial verification, contained more than 3.7 crore voters in Andhra Pradesh. The final electoral roll under SIR-2026 is scheduled to be published on October 16.

The CEO said January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 may be considered as qualifying dates for voter registration. Eligible persons whose names do not appear in the final list, as well as those who turn 18 by the subsequent qualifying dates, can apply through Form-6 and enrol themselves as voters under the Continuous Updation mechanism.