Election Commission Clarifies Procedure for Updating Voter Registration

The Election Commission on Tuesday said that previously enrolled voters can submit Form 6 to seek inclusion as electors if their names are missing from the draft rolls prepared under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The clarification comes amid concerns among those whose names have been deleted from draft SIR rolls that submitting Form 6, which carries a declaration that the applicant is seeking inclusion in the voters' list for the first time, could amount to making a false declaration and invite prosecution under the Representation of the People Act. In a letter to all state chief electoral officers, the Election Commission (EC) said that it has been brought to its notice that certain people whose names do not figure in the draft electoral roll published during the ongoing SIR are hesitant to submit Form 6 as they are also required to furnish a declaration prescribed in the form to the effect that their name is being included in the electoral rolls for the first time. "Therefore, such electors believe that submission of Form 6, in view of their previous enrolment, would amount to making a false declaration and render them liable for prosecution under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950," it said.