The Election Commission has ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 17 states and Union Territories ahead of upcoming polls, with final rolls scheduled to be published on January 4 while also agreeing to provide political parties with readable PDF versions of the voter lists.

The Election Commission has ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 17 states and Union Territories ahead of upcoming polls, with final rolls scheduled to be published on January 4 while also agreeing to provide political parties with readable PDF versions of the voter lists.

The Election Commission has ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 17 states and Union Territories ahead of upcoming polls, with final rolls scheduled to be published on January 4 while also agreeing to provide political parties with readable PDF versions of the voter lists.

The Election Commission has ordered a Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls in 17 states and Union Territories, where polls are due “early next year”. The states where SSR will be held include Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur, where polls are due "early next year".

The final rolls in these states and UTs will be published on January 4, the EC added.

States where an SSR will be held are: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.

What is an SSR?

The SSR is an annual exercise mandated under election law. It is specially held in poll-bound states aimed at including new voters, correcting existing entries and improving the accuracy of voter lists. It will also remove entries that are no longer valid.
It is different from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), with the SSR being about retaining and updating the existing electoral roll. In SIR, the roll is prepared afresh through a more intensive enumeration exercise.

The SSR will enable citizens whose names are missing from the voter list to apply for enrolment. Existing voters can seek corrections to their details via a verification process undertaken by Booth Level Officers (BLOs). However, there will be no
house-to-house visits by BLOs as the SIR has already taken place and electors have largely been identified.

For the SSR, citizens can use Forms 6, 7 and 8. While Form 6 is used for voter registration for first-time voters and eligible citizens whose names are missing from the list. Form 7 is used for objection or deletion of a name, including on grounds such as death, duplicate enrolment.

As for Form 8, it is used by existing voters to apply for shifting of residence, correction of entries in the electoral roll, replacement of an Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) or marking of a person with a disability (PwD).

The schedule provides for draft publication on November 12, a claims-and-objections window from November 12 to December 11, disposal by December 28, and final publication on January 4, 2027. The exercise also seeks advance applications from people who will become eligible on April 1, July 1 and October 1, 2027.

However, this time, the ED will share a "readable" version of the voters' list with political parties in 17 states and Union territories where it ordered the SSR.

A machine-readable voter list has been a key demand of opposition parties. Though the EC had turned down this demand till now, citing fudging concerns and court orders, it has now agreed to do so by providing parties with soft copies. Draft and final electoral rolls (without photos) will now be provided in "readable PDF format" instead of image PDF format.

At the draft stage, addition, deletion, and modification supplements will be shared with recognised political parties. The move comes amid allegations of mass voter deletions without keeping parties in the loop.

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