The Karnataka state elections are fast approaching. More than 5 crore citizens are registered to vote in the state as per the Draft Electoral Roll 2023, of which 91 lakh people have votes in Bengaluru. The publication of final electoral rolls is scheduled to take place on January 5, 2023. If your name is altered, deleted or if there are mistakes, the period of raising objections is till December 8. However, if you live in Shivajinagar, Chickpet and Mahadevapura consituencies of Bengaluru, the period of raising objections has been increased to December 23. This because a recent investigation by TNM exposed a massive voter data theft being carried out in the city by a private NGO called Chilume Educational Trust that had deployed hundreds of field workers posing as election officials to illegally collect data from citizens.
The NGO Chilume, was enabled by the BBMP to spread voter awareness ahead of the elections in the state. The NGO in question is linked with an election management company through one of its directors and also runs a mobile application called Digital Sameeksha which was used by the field workers to store the data collected. Following the investigation, the Election Commission of India on November 25 directed a review of voter lists in three Bengaluru constituencies viz. Shivajinagar, Chickpet and Mahadevapura.
Here’s how to check if your name is on the Draft Electoral Rolls:
Step 1: Go to CEO Karnataka website.
Step 2: Click on ‘Special Summary Revision’ and select Draft Electoral Roll - 2023
Step 3: Select your district, followed by your respective Assembly constituency and polling station.
If you do not know your polling station, you can search it on https://electoralsearch.in/
Step 4: Search your name in the draft list with the EPIC (Electoral Photo ID Card) number or the serial number.
If you find that your name is not included in the list, you have to register yourself as a new voter. You can do so either offline or online. To enroll offline, collect Form 6 from your Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or Booth Level Officer (BLO). You can send the form back by post or submit it yourself to the ERO of your assembly constituency. Alternatively, you can also download Form 6 online and submit it to the ERO. The forms can be downloaded by visiting this link.
To submit forms online, here’s how:
Step 1: Visit this link. If you have an account, login. If not, register as a new user.
Step 2: Click on ‘Register as a New Elector/Voter’
Step 3: Select ‘Form 6’
Step 4: Fill the required fields and submit.
