The Election Commission of India (ECI) on 6 November 2026 directed the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana, and Nagaland to extend a fresh opportunity to voters who were excluded during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The directive targets electors whose names were dropped from the draft roll after being marked under the Absent/Shifted/Dead/Duplicate (ASDD) category.

Who Is Covered Under the Fresh Opportunity

The ECI clarified that voters who were issued enumeration forms but whose names could not be included in the draft electoral roll — specifically because they were flagged as ASDD — will now get a second chance to register. This covers cases where the completed enumeration form was never returned, leaving the elector out of the draft roll.

Booth-wise lists of all such excluded voters will be displayed afresh on the notice boards of their respective polling stations, ensuring public visibility of who has been left out.

Key Process for Shifted and Re-Enrolling Voters

In a notable procedural clarification, the Commission stated that an elector marked as ASDD who has shifted residence within the same state does not need to submit Form-8. Instead, the elector must submit the enumeration form along with a statement in Annexure-C indicating the new address and the relevant Assembly Constituency.

The ECI also specified that any elector who has already submitted Form-6 for fresh enrolment during the SIR need not resubmit the enumeration form. Such applications will be processed in accordance with the Commission's clarification dated 3 November.

How BLOs and Political Parties Will Reach Excluded Voters

The Commission directed that partially filled enumeration forms for all ASDD electors be regenerated afresh in the ERO dashboard on the ECINET platform. District Electoral Officers (DEOs) and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are required to make all possible efforts to contact excluded electors through their Booth Level Officers (BLOs).

Delivery of enumeration forms may be done physically or through electronic means including WhatsApp, e-mail, or SMS, wherever contact details are available. BLOs are also expected to coordinate with Booth Level Agents (BLAs) of political parties and conduct house-to-house visits, enquiries from neighbours, family members, and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs).

Monitoring Mechanism to Ensure No Voter Is Left Behind

The ECI stated that a comprehensive monitoring mechanism will be established by the CEOs of all seven states and the national capital to track the implementation of these directions. The Commission's stated objective is to ensure that no eligible voter is deprived of the opportunity to have their name included in the final electoral roll.

This comes amid heightened scrutiny over electoral roll accuracy, particularly ahead of assembly elections in several of the named states. Critics and opposition parties have periodically flagged ASDD-based deletions as a source of voter disenfranchisement, making this corrective step a significant procedural intervention by the ECI.