RAIPUR: In a significant move to refine electoral rolls and maintain their accuracy, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has resolved a nearly two-decade-old legacy issue involving the erroneous issuance of similar Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers to genuine electors. This problem originated in 2005 due to the use of similar alphanumeric series by different Electoral Registration Officers (EROs).
To address this long-pending matter, Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of all 36 States/Union Territories and EROs of all 4,123 Assembly constituencies across India undertook a comprehensive search of the entire electoral database , encompassing over 99 crore electors across 10.50 lakh polling stations.
With an average of approximately 1,000 electors per polling station, the number of similar EPIC numbers identified was minimal, averaging around one in every four polling stations, said Election Commission Office spokesperson from Chhattisgarh.
Field-level verification revealed that individuals holding these similar EPIC numbers were indeed genuine electors residing in different Assembly constituencies and different polling stations. Subsequently, all such electors have been issued new EPIC cards with unique numbers.
The origin of this issue dates back to 2005 when various States/UTs were independently using different alphanumeric series for each Assembly Constituency. These series underwent a mandatory change in 2008 following the delimitation of constituencies. However, during this transition period, some Assembly Constituencies inadvertently continued using either the old series or, due to typographical errors, adopted series allocated to other constituencies, the spokesperson said.
The ECI clarified that every voter's name is registered in the electoral roll of the specific polling station where they are an ordinary resident. Possessing an EPIC with a similar number never enabled any individual to cast a vote at a different polling station. Therefore, the issue of similar EPIC numbers could not have influenced the outcome of any elections.
To address this long-pending matter, Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of all 36 States/Union Territories and EROs of all 4,123 Assembly constituencies across India undertook a comprehensive search of the entire electoral database , encompassing over 99 crore electors across 10.50 lakh polling stations.
With an average of approximately 1,000 electors per polling station, the number of similar EPIC numbers identified was minimal, averaging around one in every four polling stations, said Election Commission Office spokesperson from Chhattisgarh.
Field-level verification revealed that individuals holding these similar EPIC numbers were indeed genuine electors residing in different Assembly constituencies and different polling stations. Subsequently, all such electors have been issued new EPIC cards with unique numbers.
The origin of this issue dates back to 2005 when various States/UTs were independently using different alphanumeric series for each Assembly Constituency. These series underwent a mandatory change in 2008 following the delimitation of constituencies. However, during this transition period, some Assembly Constituencies inadvertently continued using either the old series or, due to typographical errors, adopted series allocated to other constituencies, the spokesperson said.
The ECI clarified that every voter's name is registered in the electoral roll of the specific polling station where they are an ordinary resident. Possessing an EPIC with a similar number never enabled any individual to cast a vote at a different polling station. Therefore, the issue of similar EPIC numbers could not have influenced the outcome of any elections.
You may also like
Border posts where BSF duo was martyred to be named after them: BSF DG
UK court refuses Nirav Modi bail for 8th time
AAP, BJP wrangle over Delhi's 'poor' air quality after dust storm
Pak condemns Rajnath's remarks, signals robust defence posture
Cole Palmer makes Lamine Yamal feelings clear as Chelsea star agrees with Bukayo Saka
