Kerala State Election Commission clarifies process for correcting voter roll discrepancies

Thiruvananthapuram: The State Election Commission has stepped in to address errors in the voter list following widespread complaints regarding ward changes, booth relocations, and instances of duplicate entries within the same booth. The Commission has directed electoral officers to take corrective measures independently.

Commissioner A Shajahan stated that if changes in wards or polling stations have occurred due to the inclusion of new wards following redivision, they will be rectified. Electoral Registration Officers include Secretaries in Panchayats and Municipalities, and the Additional Secretary in Corporations. The draft electoral roll, compiled after two rounds of summary revision, currently includes 2,66,78,256 voters.

A total of 8,76,879 names were removed from the list used in the by-elections held in 2020 and thereafter. This included names of deceased individuals, those who had relocated, and duplicate entries. In 2023, the list was revised to incorporate 57,460 applicants. In 2024, 4,52,951 names were excluded, while 2,68,907 eligible voters were added.

One and a half lakh applications in three days

Within just 3 days of publishing the draft voter list, around one and a half lakh applications were received.

Of these, 1,05,948 were for the inclusion of new names. The remaining applications pertain to corrections, changes in ward, booth, or local body, and deletion requests. Applications can be submitted via the official website sec.kerala.gov.in until August 7.