The Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) will assist with the claims and objections process for voters who receive notices over discrepancies identified during the SIR in Karnataka.

The Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) will assist with the claims and objections process for voters who receive notices over discrepancies identified during the SIR in Karnataka.

The Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) will assist with the claims and objections process for voters who receive notices over discrepancies identified during the SIR in Karnataka.

The Election Commission in Karnataka has added 3,926 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) in Karnataka to assist Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in verifying 43,81,335 voters as the draft electoral rolls were published on Monday under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

The additional AEROs will assist with the claims and objections process for voters who receive notices over discrepancies identified during the revision. Notices will be served to voters whose records could not be mapped to the 2002 electoral rolls or whose mapped records showed one or more of nine logical discrepancies identified by the Chief Electoral Officer’s office.

Those whose records were mapped without discrepancies will not require document verification.

The draft rolls contain around 4.46 crore voters. At least 4.02 crore are expected to make it to the final rolls, to be published on October 27. The remaining 43.81 lakh will have to undergo verification before they can be included.

Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will visit the homes of these voters over the next two months to serve notices. The notices will specify the date, time and venue of the hearing, and the names of recipients will be listed at their respective polling stations.

Voters will have to produce at least one document listed on the reverse of the enumeration form. The ERO can seek up to three documents, including Aadhaar, if required. The BLO will upload the documents during the verification.

“No specific document will be sought right now. It will be a general uploading of documents,” an official from the CEO’s office said, adding that the ERO can allow the submission of a specific document.

If the voter is absent when the notice is served, they can authorise someone else to collect it. But the voter must attend the hearing in person, and virtual hearings are not permitted. However, if a voter is unwell or unable to attend due to pressing circumstances, the ERO or AERO can visit the voter and verify the documents. A second opportunity can also be given if the voter cannot be heard at the first hearing.

The hearing venue will generally be within a reasonable distance of the voter’s residence. With the number of polling stations increased, officials said no voter would have to travel more than 2km to reach their venue. If the ERO is satisfied after verification, a speaking order can be issued as early as the following day.

If the claim is rejected, the ERO must issue a speaking order stating the grounds for rejection, which the BLO will deliver to the voter’s residence.The voter can appeal against the rejection before the District Election Officer, who is the Deputy Commissioner. If the matter remains unresolved, a further appeal can be made to Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbu Kumar.

The verification of the 43.81 lakh voters will now be a key step before Karnataka’s final electoral rolls are published on October 27.

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