EC to launch nationwide SIR in 2 phases; schedule next week

New Delhi (TIP)- The Election Commission (EC) intends to launch the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in November in phases. As per reports, SIR will be conducted first where assembly elections are going to be held early next year. The EC is prepping for the exvercise at a two-day conference that begun on Wednesday, 22nd October, with the Chief Election Officers of all states and UTs in India, apart from other ECI officials.
The EC plan is to implement the SIR of the voters in phases, rather than all at once. The initial states to go through this will be those with elections coming up in 2026, like Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.
However, on 15th July, authorities of Assam have informed the EC that they would prefer to complete their state’s National Register of Citizens (NRC) first before starting this voter update. Assam is the only state that has been preparing an NRC, so the EC has not reached a decision yet on whether Assam will be among the first group.
Here’s how this new verification process will work, which is based on the excerise already done in Bihar. For the upcoming nationwide exercise, all registered voters will need to fill out new forms to remain on the list. However, there’s a key difference depending on when a voter was first registered. The Election Commission is using a “cut-off year” (like 2003 for Bihar) to set the rules.
If a voter registered before the specified cut-off date, they will likely just need to submit the form. However, if one registered after that cut-off year, the voter must also provide documents proving the date or place of birth to confirm eligibility and citizenship.
There is also some good news, particularly for individuals who have shifted from one state to another for work. The EC is introducing a new regulation that’s very beneficial. While voters were allowed to only use old proof from inside Bihar during the Bihar trial, that’s being relaxed for this national rollout.
For instance, if a person was born in West Bengal and were registered there on their 2002 electoral roll, but now resides and votes in Mumbai, that person can utilise that old West Bengal proof to remain registered to vote in Mumbai. This helps migrant workers a great deal. The ongoing two-day comference is the second such meeting that the EC is having over nationwide SIR, after the first conference in September this year.