Thiruvananthapuram: Each voter in the state will be given a nine-digit identification number for the local body elections. With complaints of duplication in the list, the State Election Commission hopes that this measure will help eliminate such issues. It will also help avoid multiple numbering systems.

The draft voters’ list, to be published on Monday, will carry the new identification number for all 2,83,12,458 voters. Those who are newly added to the list in the future will also receive such a unique identification number.

The number will appear above the voter’s photograph, beginning with the English letters ‘SEC’ (the abbreviation for State Election Commission) followed by a nine-digit serial number starting with 0. For those allotted the first numbers, most digits will be zeros. For instance, the number of a voter in Ward 5 of Manjeshwaram Grama Panchayat, Kasaragod, is SEC 000000001. The numbering is based at the state level.

The order of numbering will follow the existing voters’ list, but family members in the same household may not necessarily get consecutive numbers. The number will be assigned as approved by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO).

Two entries, two numbers

Questions have arisen on whether duplication can truly be avoided with the new system. Duplicates can be traced through a centralised verification mechanism. If the same person is included in two different places, they will technically get two numbers. However, by cross-matching details such as the number, photo, address, and father’s name, duplication can be detected. Instructions in this regard have been issued to all EROs.

“The nine-digit format was chosen to ensure coverage no matter how much the voter population grows in future. It can accommodate up to nine crore voters. All subsequent processes related to the local body election voters’ list must henceforth use this new number” — A Shajahan, State Election Commissioner