DEHRADUN: In a significant restructuring of the electoral rolls, Uttarakhand has witnessed a sharp decline in its voter base, with the number of registered electors dropping by 4,53,459 over the past year.
Official data from the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office indicates that the state’s voter count has decreased from 84,29,459 in January 2025 to approximately 79,76,000 now.
Election officials attribute this reduction to a comprehensive purge of the rolls, removing names categorised under the ASD—Absent, Shifted, and Deceased—criteria.
"This reduction is a result of a rigorous verification process," said Dr Vijay Kumar Jogdande, Additional Chief Electoral Officer.
"Names were removed due to deaths, migration, and the elimination of duplicate entries. Similar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercises have been conducted in other states, and we are simply aligning our records to ensure accuracy."
The state had not undertaken a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of this scale since 2003, leading to a long-standing accumulation of "ghost" voters—individuals who had either passed away or migrated but remained on the rolls.
During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the state had recorded 84,31,101 voters. However, intensive work throughout the year, supported by advanced deduplication software, has successfully streamlined the lists.
As part of this massive "Pre-SIR" initiative, the Election Commission prioritised Booth Level Officer (BLO) mapping.
To date, 70 lakh voters have been successfully mapped. However, about 9,76,000 voters' 2003 enrollment records could not be verified.
"These voters will be issued inquiry forms during the upcoming SIR process to provide details regarding their original registration from 2003," Dr Jogdande added.
"If the information provided is unsatisfactory or if no response is received, a formal notice will be issued before any final decision is made to remove their names from the list," Jogdande highlighted.
While the administration focuses on weeding out irregularities, officials emphasised that the democratic process remains open for legitimate new voters.
Citizens seeking to register can submit Form-6 through their local BLO or via the official online portal.