The story so far: The Election Commission (EC) has completed the first phase of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar by publishing the draft voter list on August 1. However, 65 lakh names have been removed from this list for various reasons, and the fate of lakhs who have been included on the draft list without submitting verification documents is also up in the air. As poll officials scrutinise forms and conduct inquiries on claims and objections in preparation for the publication of the final list on September 30, the Supreme Court is hearing objections to the SIR process filed by Opposition parties and civil society groups, with the next hearing set for August 12.
In the month after the EC launched the Bihar SIR process on June 24, booth-level officers (BLOs) carried out house visits, distributing pre-printed enumeration forms. Voters not included on the 2003 electoral rolls were required to submit documents proving the date and place of birth of themselves and their parents. As it became clear that many voters could not provide any of the EC’s 11 approved documents — which did not include more commonly available documents such as Aadhaar, voter ID cards, or ration cards — the EC issued an advertisement on July 6, urging people to submit their forms before the deadline even if they could not provide supporting documents, leaving it to the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to process the forms on the basis of local investigations or other evidence. All those who submitted their forms before the deadline were included on the draft roll published on August 1.
