BENGALURU: The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Karnataka on Monday published the draft electoral roll as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the state. This is the first SIR exercise in Karnataka after 2002.
According to the data, Karnataka has 4,46,80,151 electors, of which 2,22,01,727 are males, 2,24,75,553 females and 2,871 others.
Till June 16, 2026, when the electoral rolls were frozen, Karnataka housed 5,54,32,314 electors, of which 2,75,89,406 were males, 2,78,37,913 females and 4,995 others.
As a part of the SIR exercise, 1,07,96,415 citizens were listed under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO) category and were "cleaned" from the rolls.
Speaking to the media at the sidelines of the release of the draft, CEO Karnataka, V Anbukkumar said the draft electoral roll is now uploaded on the CEO Karnataka website. Citizens must check only this list and not published by any other.
The process of issuing notices to 9.82% (43,81,335) electors listed under anomaly/logical discrepancies (20,35,835) and no-mapping (23,45,500) category will now start. The Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will start handing over notices to voters seeking clarifications from August 31, he said.
The CEO said that soon after getting the notices, citizens will have to appear in person before the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) with the specified documents (one of the 11 listed documents in the enumeration form along with Aadhaar) for verification.
Even if voters upload their documents online using the scanner printed on the notice letter, they will have to physically appear before the ERO for final verification.
He said that while the District Election Officer (DEO) and ERO can use innovative and modern communication methods to reach electors and share notices, only notices physically handed over to voters, with a photograph of the voter receiving them, will be considered for documentation.
This is the second part of the SIR exercise — claims and objections period is being held from August 24 to September 23, 2026. This will run parallel to the notice phase/disposal of claims and objections period — August 24 to October 22, 2026.
As a part of the SIR exercise, the number of polling stations in Karnataka has also increased from 59,050 to 60,923. As per directions from Election Commission of India (ECI) the maximum voters in each polling station should not exceed 1,200.
The CEO also said that during this phase, people can raise objections about other electors and file them before the ERO, with a declaration. The ERO can also issue notices to any other elector not listed in the anomaly or no-mapping category, if any discrepancy in seeking clarification is found.
The CEO said that after the rationalisation exercise, the polling station of individuals and their family members could have changed. Thus, while searching for names, citizens may have to scroll through neighbouring booths. The names of all those getting notices will be listed against their respective polling stations, panchayat and ward offices for citizens to verify.
The notice will state whether the elector is listed under no-mapping or anomaly category and the reason. It will also include the date of hearing, location and time of hearing along with documents required. Notices will issued only twice to electors, failing which they will be removed from the rolls.
To ensure unhindered and quick disposal of cases, the CEO office has roped in an additional 3,926 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs). They will do the same work as EROs and will be deployed where applications to be processed are high.
The electoral roll, which was frozen from June 16, has now been opened again. Citizens can now fill and submit Form-8 for corrections. It must be noted that in each application, only four of the eight categories can be filled for corrections.
The process of correction has also been simplified. Citizens no longer need to fill forms for deletion and inclusion. They can just fill one Form-8 for correction with a declaration, he added.
From June 16 to August 23, CEO Karnataka office received a total of 14,67,929 forms for inclusion and deletion. This includes 4,73,354 for Form-6 (inclusion/new voters); 3,880 for Form-6A (overseas new voters for inclusion); 67,307 for Form-7 (deletion); and 9,23,388 for Form-8 (for corrections).
While submitting enumeration forms under the house-to-house enumeration phase, 2,19,47,478 electors submitted their fresh photographs. Officials in the CEO office said this will be helpful and used while printing the new format EPIC cards.
Anbukkumar said those listed under absent and shifted category can now fill Form-6 and 8. He said to help enrol electors, special camps will be organised in areas where ASDDO list is high.
All those who submit Forms 6, 7 and 8 before September 23, will be included in the final electoral rolls, to be published on October 27, 2026. Those who submit forms and documents after September 23, will be included in the supplementary rolls which will be released after the final rolls.