Over 1.08 crore voters in Karnataka remain flagged in electoral roll revision

The enumeration phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka concluded on Monday, leaving over 1.08 crore voters under the Absent, Shifted, Duplicate, Dead, and Others (ASDDO) category. These voters will not appear in the draft electoral roll scheduled for publication on August 24.

The SIR is a focused exercise conducted by election authorities to clean the electoral roll by removing ineligible entries and adding eligible voters. The ASDDO category includes individuals who are absent from their usual residence, have shifted, appear as duplicates, are deceased, or fall under other reasons for exclusion.

According to official data, the overall number of flagged voters decreased from 1.11 crore on August 5 to over 1.08 crore by August 17, the final day of enumeration. However, the decline has not been uniform. The count of voters marked 'dead' rose from 16.30 lakh to 16.38 lakh, while those classified as 'already enrolled or duplicate' increased from 6.89 lakh to 7.07 lakh during the same period.

Several voters who approached officials after finding their names in the ASDDO list said that, in some cases, Booth-Level Officers (BLOs) appeared to have shifted their names from one category to another rather than removing them from the list. Civil society groups have echoed these concerns, noting that many names continue to remain under ASDDO despite requests for correction.

In Bengaluru, several constituencies continue to have more than half of their voters under ASDDO, including Dasarahalli, Vijayanagar, BTM Layout, Bommanahalli, and C.V. Raman Nagar. The problem is not restricted to the capital. Kalaburagi, Mysuru, and Raichur have also reported high proportions of voters under ASDDO.

In Kalaburagi's Chittapur constituency, represented by Home Minister Priyank Kharge, 22.13% of voters are under ASDDO, despite the constituency having recorded a 99.73% mapping rate before the enumeration phase. Nearly 20% of the ASDDO figure in Chittapur is concentrated in just 26 polling booths.

The nearly three-lakh drop in the overall ASDDO figure between August 5 and August 17 has come largely from Bengaluru, with little change in numbers from other districts. Booth-Level Agents said many voters in other districts were unaware that their names had been placed under the ASDDO category or were unfamiliar with the SIR process itself.

After the draft roll is published on August 24, voters will have time to file claims and objections until September 23. Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) will then issue notices where required and conduct the process of disposing of claims and objections until October 22.

Election officials have urged citizens to verify their names in the draft roll and submit any corrections within the stipulated period to ensure they are not disenfranchised. The final electoral roll is expected to be released after the claims and objections process is completed.