Electoral Roll Discrepancies Surface in Karnataka as Valid Voters Marked Shifted

Systemic Glitches Risk Voter Deletions

As the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) unfolds across Karnataka, a troubling pattern of clerical errors has emerged. Multiple households in Bengaluru report that family members are being flagged as shifted on enumeration forms, even though their residential status has remained unchanged for years. This designation carries significant weight; those marked as shifted risk having their names purged from the final electoral rolls if the discrepancy remains unaddressed.

Voters in the Yeshwanthpur Assembly constituency highlight the confusing nature of these errors. In one instance, a family expected four enumeration forms but received only three. Their Booth Level Officer (BLO) initially claimed the missing member was assigned to a different jurisdiction. When the final form was eventually retrieved from a government school, it was inexplicably labeled with a shifted status. Despite the family documenting that their address had been updated in electoral records since 2020, the classification remained.

The Role of Delimitation and Legacy Records

Interviews with local officials suggest that administrative shifts may be the root cause of the confusion rather than actual migration of citizens. Several BLOs admitted they do not know why specific voters were flagged, noting they are simply following data provided to them. Some officials indicated they were directed to mark voters as shifted if 2002 address records did not match 2025 data.

Key factors contributing to the errors include:

• Redrawing of Polling Boundaries: Delimitation can move entire streets or apartment blocks to a different polling station, often under a new BLO unfamiliar with the neighborhood.
• Communication Gaps: If a voter record is transferred to a new station but an official at the previous location attempts to locate them using an old list, they may erroneously mark the individual as gone.
• Administrative Hurdles: Voters are being instructed to submit Form 8 to rectify these errors. This has caused frustration among residents who question why they must navigate a correction process for data that is already accurate in official systems.

Official Response and Resident Concerns

While field reports indicate widespread issues, Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbu Kumar stated that voters are only categorized as shifted when they are physically unavailable at their registered residence. He further noted that his office has not yet received formal reports regarding these specific discrepancies. However, documented cases contradict this, including a woman in Bengaluru who was marked as shifted under the assumption she moved after marriage, despite living at her current address since 2002. For affected residents, the burden of proof now lies on them to ensure their democratic right to vote is not erased by a database error.

Source: The Hindu — News