New Delhi: Months after thousands of voters complained that their names were missing from the electoral list, the Election Commission (EC) is considering a proposal to address the issue.
The commission is now evaluating the possibility of publicising the names of people that have been deleted from the electoral rolls following an updation, ThePrint has learnt. Sources told ThePrint that the idea was floated in a meeting that the commission held with all chief electoral officers (CEOs) earlier this month.
The EC hopes that publicising the names would ensure that those who aren’t on the rolls are aware of the problem.
The commission had come under fire during the Lok Sabha elections and assembly polls in a few states in April and May when there were widespread complaints from voters not finding their names on the electoral rolls. Several of them even took to social media to air their grievance.
While civil society groups and other eminent people accused EC officials of adopting a lackadaisical attitude, election authorities said that most deletions occurred due to voters changing their residences.
In a scathing statement issued after the elections, a group of former civil servants said the onus was on the EC to clarify the situation. “Several reports were published in the media of large-scale voter exclusion, with some reports suggesting that voters from a certain minority group were the most affected. It was incumbent upon the ECI to investigate them and respond promptly,” their statement said.
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A proposal in the works
The idea of publicising the names has not been formalised and was just one of the possible solutions floated by some of the CEOs. It was suggested that the EC should expect voters to assume that their names would be on the list and that it must take it upon itself to informing voters that their names are not on the list.
If the idea is accepted, details such as how to publicise the names, the platforms among others would be decided.
The meeting also saw the commission discuss a slew of other issues that had cropped up during the Lok Sabha elections. The CEOs are expected to file their formal presentations on their proposed solutions in August.
EC may also match electoral rolls with death registry
Another idea that came up during the discussion on voter deletion was for the EC to corroborate the electoral rolls with the National Death Register of India (NDRI).
“When someone dies, the first thing people do is to apply for a death certificate…Getting their names deleted from the electoral list does not quite occur to grieving families,” a CEO told ThePrint on condition of anonymity. “So if the ECI can match the electoral rolls with the death registry, it would sanitise the rolls.”
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My name was deleted too. I am working outside Kerala state, in Gujarat. But I specially booked ticket vote. About 2 weeks before elections i came to know my name was not there. Why it was deleted? Who decides which name should be deleted? These are still not clear…..
1. In context of this news report, I am I reminded of frustration, anger and pain of my elder brother, who is 91 plus and who has voted in every election right from first General Election in 1952. On day of voting (23rd April, 2019) he came to know that his name was not in Voters’ List. He felt so frustrated and helpless on that day; no one could be of assistance to him or console him. If Election Commission of India has taken a decision to inform a voter about likely deletion of his/her name from the Voters’ List, indeed it is very good and of course, a welcome decision. 2. In this connection, I wish to say from own experience that whole process of registration of voters, as it exists today, needs to be reviewed so that it can be made as systematic and error-free as possible.