Election Commission rolls out reforms to boost accuracy of electoral rolls, voter services | India News

NEW DELHI: In a transfer to enhance the accuracy of electoral rolls and streamline voter services, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched three main initiatives geared toward strengthening the electoral course of.
These reforms have been introduced following the Conference of Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) held in March, beneath the management of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and within the presence of Election Commissioners Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr Vivek Joshi, as introduced by way of a press launch issued Thursday.
A key initiative includes the digital acquisition of demise registration knowledge from the Registrar General of India. This reform, aligned with Rule 9 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and Section 3(5)(b) of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 (as amended in 2023), will allow Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to obtain well timed updates on registered deaths. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will then confirm these particulars by way of area visits, with out ready for formal purposes beneath Form 7. The measure is anticipated to considerably improve the integrity of electoral rolls by guaranteeing immediate deletion of names of deceased people.
To enhance the voting expertise, the Commission has additionally redesigned the Voter Information Slip (VIS) to make it extra user-friendly. The new format options bigger fonts for the voter’s serial and half numbers, serving to electors simply establish their polling stations and aiding officers in faster location of voter entries within the rolls.
In an extra step to boost voter outreach and confidence, the ECI has directed that every one BLOs be issued normal photograph identification playing cards. Appointed beneath Section 13B(2) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, BLOs are the first hyperlink between voters and the Commission. The official ID playing cards will be sure that BLOs are simply recognisable throughout house-to-house visits, fostering belief and smoother interactions throughout voter verification and registration drives.