The Election Commission of India on Saturday announced a major course correction in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, saying it will stop physical hearings for voters flagged as unmapped or for discrepancies in their enumeration forms and instead send booth-level officers to their homes to collect documents. The move comes amid rising concern over the scale and handling of the revision exercise, which has already been completed in 20 States and Union Territories, and follows days of reports suggesting internal disagreement within the poll body over the process and its administration.
In a press note issued after a full bench meeting of the Commission on September 26, 2026, the ECI said that persons who have received notices during the ongoing SIR because they were unmapped or because of logical discrepancies will no longer be required to appear before the electoral registration officer or assistant electoral registration officer in the ordinary course. Instead, booth-level officers will visit their homes, collect the necessary documents and upload them on ECINet for a decision by the ERO.
"Such persons need not be called for hearing to ERO/AERO office. Only in exceptional circumstances, as decided by the ERO, the hearing will be held preferably online," the Commission said. It added that any adult member of the family may be authorised by the elector to attend the hearing on their behalf if needed, and that online hearing facilities are to be strengthened.
The announcement is significant because the SIR process has been closely watched for its impact on voter inclusion and the administrative burden placed on field officials. By shifting the process away from physical hearings, the Commission appears to be responding to complaints about access, delays and the practical difficulties faced by voters who may otherwise have to travel to election offices to defend their inclusion in the rolls.
The Commission also clarified the rules governing fresh voter registration. It said the declaration attached to Form 6, which is used for new voter enrolment, is mandatory only during the current SIR process. That means that once the ongoing revision is over, new voters seeking inclusion in the electoral rolls will not be required to submit the same declaration. For the non-SIR period, the forms applicable under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, will be used for inclusion of new electors.
The ECI said that anyone whose name has been left out during the SIR or thereafter, including young and first-time voters, may apply to the concerned electoral registration officer for inclusion in the rolls. "A special drive will immediately be launched for their enrolment," the press note said, signalling an effort to counter fears that the revision exercise could inadvertently exclude eligible voters.
The Commission's statement also addressed a separate issue that had drawn criticism from the two Election Commissioners: the centralisation of voter roll management through the ECINet portal and reports that field officers were unable to access it in many cases. The press note said a committee headed by a senior deputy election commissioner and including an independent expert from IIT or IIIT will review ECINet to ensure compliance with the relevant Acts and Rules and submit a report to the Commission.
The note was notable not only for its substance but also for its tone. It said the measures had the approval of the full Commission and was accompanied by a photograph of all three Election Commissioners, a detail that appeared aimed at projecting unity after reports of a rift within the institution. The Commission also confirmed that the two Commissioners had written to the Cabinet Secretary, but said the communication was not related to any policy matter of the Commission or its IT division. Rather, it concerned the working of an officer on deputation to the ECI. The statement added that the work redistribution orders issued by the concerned officer were not actually implemented after the orders of the two Commissioners.
The developments come at a sensitive moment for the Election Commission, which is under pressure to balance the integrity of the rolls with the need to ensure that eligible voters are not excluded through procedural complexity. The SIR has already become a politically charged exercise, with questions raised over the declaration requirement, access to the portal, and the handling of disputed entries. Saturday's announcements suggest the Commission is trying to steady the process while preserving the legal framework around voter registration.
For voters, the immediate effect is likely to be less friction in resolving discrepancies and a clearer route for those left out of the rolls to seek inclusion. For the Commission, the challenge now will be to ensure that the new home-based verification system, the special enrolment drive and the ECINet review are implemented quickly and consistently across states, without adding another layer of confusion to an already closely scrutinised exercise.