On Thursday, the Election Commission announced a targeted effort to trace and restore to the rolls any eligible voters who may have been missed when the Special Intensive Revision exercise wrapped up across 20 states, while also extending support to first-time and younger voters seeking enrolment.

Booth-level officers (BLOs) are scheduled to conduct door-to-door visits across households that appeared on the electoral roll before the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) but were left out of the updated version — part of a wider outreach effort aimed at spreading awareness that any name removed during the SIR process can be reinstated at any point by submitting Form 6, the standard application for fresh enrolment. During those visits, field workers will check whether each person on the rolls remains eligible and, where that is confirmed, guide them through the Form 6 registration process.

An official outlined four explanations for why a name might appear as a fresh addition to the electoral roll: documentation establishing eligibility had not been submitted during an earlier window; a mapping correction from the previous Special Intensive Revision had placed the entry properly; a voter who had relocated was traceable at the address where registration originally occurred; or a young person had crossed the age threshold of 18 after that revision concluded. The official added that registration on the electoral roll remains open at any stage, meaning anyone whose name is absent or was removed retains the option to apply for inclusion at any time.

In a letter dispatched Thursday to chief electoral officers across states, the Election Commission outlined that the purpose of the targeted drive was to locate and provide assistance to such voters. That session between the EC and state and UT chief electoral officers on Tuesday set the stage for the subsequent announcement.

Following a vote taken by the full commission on 26 September, Form 6 submissions during the special drive will not require any accompanying declaration.

Across the 13 states included in the first two rounds of the Special Intensive Revision, roughly 7.7 crore names were removed from electoral rolls, though once additions and other adjustments were factored in, the net reduction in registered voters stood at approximately 5.6 crore. Across seven states where Phase 3 wrapped up, the voter rolls recorded a net reduction of close to 2.4 million entries.

The rollout of the initiative was preceded by a television outlet's broadcast report carrying claims about election commissioners S.S. Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. Internal documentation shows that both Sandhu and Joshi put their concerns about the SIR process on record through written notes. Following a full commission gathering on 26 September, the EC placed on formal record through an official communiqué that every decision tied to the SIR process had carried the unanimous backing of both the Chief Election Commissioner and the sitting commissioners.

According to unnamed sources within the Election Commission, the drive is aimed at carrying out standing instructions from the Chief Election Commissioner to Booth Level Officers, ensuring that every eligible citizen who has turned 18 is enrolled on the voter list. Figures from an Election Commission representative put the share of voters removed from each polling booth's register through the Special Intensive Revision process at roughly one in ten, drawn from a typical booth population of 800 to 900 registered electors.

Under the revised arrangement, the workload for each BLO would cover eligibility checks on a pool of removed voters numbering below one hundred. Door-to-door checks on roughly 20 to 25 registered voters per Booth Level Officer each week are projected to keep the electoral roll verification drive running for approximately a month.

During home visits to addresses where electors have been removed from the rolls, Booth Level Officers are to record the current situation of each individual against the relevant entry in their compiled register, noting whether that person is absent, has relocated permanently, has died, appears as a duplicate, or is identified as a foreign national. Voters whose registration details have been submitted through Form 6 will be marked accordingly on the rolls.

Copies of the compiled list, together with the completed Form 6 and any field verification reports, are to be handed over to booth level agents (BLAs) from recognised political parties as well as to electoral registration officers (EROs). Decisions on whether entries are added to or removed from the register fall within the ERO's designated authority.

Booth-level voter lists compiled through this process will be handed over by Electoral Registration Officers to political party representatives, giving those parties a final window to identify and bring in any residents who have yet to register. Voter registration camps at the booth level are being set up to make it easier for residents to submit their enrolment applications. Dedicated registration drives may be set up to reach residents of night shelters and labour colonies, along with those without fixed housing or from otherwise underserved communities.

During the Special Intensive Revision exercise covering 20 states, each Booth Level Officer drew up a roster of ASDD electors whose names had been left out, along with the likely grounds for each omission. Copies of the roster were posted at the notice boards of the relevant panchayat bhawans and urban local bodies, made available at BDO and panchayat offices, circulated among BLAs and political parties, and published on the CEO's website. Following its completion, the document was circulated among political parties and made available on the CEO website.

Once EROs had ruled on all claims and objections lodged against the draft, a finalised voter register was released, capturing every addition and removal made since that earlier version appeared.