DEHRADUN: In an unprecedented move to clean up the voter lists, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is getting ready to start a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Uttarakhand. This process will carefully compare the 2025 voter list with old records from 2003. Many voters will need to provide certain documents, especially if their names is missing from the list that is twenty years old.
The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) office has begun preparations and held a planning meeting on Thursday. An important meeting with recognized political parties was led by State Chief Election Officer Dr BVRC Purushottam at the Secretariat. The meeting explained the ECI’s power to carry out the SIR under Article 324 of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, 1950. The work is focused on getting ready for the SIR based on the eligibility date of January 2026.
Voters will be divided into four groups for this big verification. Category A includes people on the 2025 list who are 38 or older and whose names are also on the 2003 list; they will only need to show a reference paper for verification. But Category B voters – those on the 2025 list, aged 38 or above, but not on the 2003 list – will have to follow stricter rules. They must provide one of 11 allowed documents, like a Passport, Driving License, Aadhaar, or PAN card.
For younger voters, Category C (20-37 years old on the 2025 list) and Category D (18-19 years old), the rule is that they must show one of the 11 documents for themselves and also one from at least one of their parents.
The 2003 voter list for all 70 assembly areas has been made public for people to check. Any voter who is not happy with the commission’s decision can make a first appeal to the District Magistrate within 15 days. If they are still not satisfied, they can make a second appeal to the Chief Electoral Officer within 30 days.
CEO Dr. Purushottam pointed out another problem to this newspaper, stating, "The state has 11,733 polling booths, and each political party is required to appoint one Booth Level Agent (BLA). So far, only 2,744 have been appointed." This gap shows that more work is needed to be fully ready for the election.