Preparation of Draft Electoral Roll

Preparation of Draft Electoral Roll 1

Voter Registration Cycle Intensive Revision Summary or Part Summary and Part Intensive Revision Every Year Special Revision Continuous Updating 2

Procedure during Summary Revision Existing Electoral Roll is published as Draft Electoral Roll and applications for inclusion, deletion and correction are invited The entries of electors details in the Rolls are same as in intensive revision ERO notifies the Roll revision program in Form 5 under RER, 1960 as directed by ECI 3

Form 5 Notice of Publication of Electoral Roll in Draft 4

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision Suo-motu corrections in the Roll since last publication All the corrections suggested by the political parties and other agencies to the previously published Final Roll are checked, due procedure is followed and if found necessary are incorporated in the supplement of continuous updating prepared before Draft Publication 5

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision De-duplication of Voters De-duplication software is run to throw up probable duplicate entries in the Roll which are verified in the field after which duplicates are removed as follows- ERO undertakes de-duplication suo motu within the Constituency before Draft publication of Rolls under summary revision For the repeated names in the Roll, notices are issued under Section 22 of RPA, 1950 and full verification procedure is followed Repeated names deleted from one location becomes the Part of supplement of continuous updation and Draft publication under summary revision 6

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision Check the presence of names of MPs, MLAs & other important persons ERO checks whether these names are present in the Rolls and also the removal of names of disqualified persons Corrective actions are taken before any Draft publications under summary revision process following the due process of law. 7

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision Preparation of Supplement of continuous updating List of amendments is prepared based on continuous updating List specifies only names included or deleted on the directions of ERO or DEO/ CEO (in appeal cases under Section 24 of RPA, 1950) The inclusions, deletions and corrections are finalized and supplement is prepared before the publication of Draft Rolls Supplement is published along with the Draft publication in case of non-integration of Draft Roll 8

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision Integration of Supplements and preparation of integrated Rolls In case of election year, Roll and its supplements are integrated into one basic Roll and published as Draft Roll In non-election years, basic Roll from previous year and its supplements are published together without integration as Draft Roll 9

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision Reorganization of Polling Stations before publication of Draft ERO reorganizes the Rolls with respect to new Parts before publishing the Draft Roll Some points that are ascertained: Number of electors per Polling Stations to be limited as per ECI guidelines. Normally not more than 1400 electors in urban areas and 1200 in rural areas are assigned in each Part. Separate and independent Polling Station is created for each revenue village having > 300 of population as directed by ECI De-congestion of Polling Stations: ECI guidelines to be followed. Normally, not more than 4 PSs per PSL (Polling Station location) in urban and not more than 2 PSs per PSL in rural areas are allowed. Roll of the Part is neatly organized into Sections. Proposed list of new Polling Stations is published as Draft and shared with recognized political parties to invite their objections/claims Roll is organized with changed set of Polling Stations after receiving approval of ECI before the publication of Draft Roll 10

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision Control table updation ERO/DEO updates the control table before Draft publication according to the modifications done since last Final publication Control table reflects all the modifications related to Polling Stations, Sections, service voters etc. 11

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision Identification of Revision Staff (Including BLOs) ERO ensures that BLOs, Designated Officers, Supervisors etc. are in place and trained before publication of Draft Roll Name, address, contact numbers with respective jurisdiction of Roll revision related officer is uploaded on website before publication of Draft 12

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision Training and Orientation of Revision Staff EROs draw a detailed training schedule for the revision staff (Para 29, Chapter 4, ERO Handbook) Before launching the summary revision, one full day training is conducted Master trainers are trained to impart such trainings for every Assembly During the training: Audio visual material and written handouts are used Checklist of points to verify in field visits are given to each participant Monitoring and reporting mechanism is explained in detail 13

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision Availability and Provisioning of Forms Adequate number of Forms are provided at all designated locations and revision officials Forms are given in all required languages Which are the Forms given to the revision officials? Forms 6, 6A, 7, 8, 8A 14

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision Readiness of CEO s Website CEOs/DEOs ensure that the website is ready, tested and run before the publication of Draft Rolls. Search facility is provided on the website for an elector to search her/his name in the Roll, know her/ his Polling Station, and find the procedure to apply for enrolment. All details of facilitating registration are provided on the website before the Draft publication 15

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision Providing elector information in requisite formats CEOs provide information to ECI in the prescribed (annexures 2.2 to 2.9 of HB of EROs) before publication of Draft Rolls Which are the prescribed Formats? 16

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision Providing elector information in requisite formats Annexure 2.2 Polling Station wise elector information (Gender Ratio) Annexure 2.3 Polling Station wise Elector information (Elector- Population ratio) 17

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision Providing elector information in requisite formats Annexure 2.4 & 2.5 - District wise Age-Cohort Elector Information Format 3A Format 3B 18

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision Providing elector information in requisite formats Annexure 2.5 - Polling Station wise Information on Inclusion and Deletions in Current Electoral Rolls Over Previous Roll 19

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision Providing elector information in requisite formats Annexure 2.6 - Polling Station wise Information on EPIC & Photo Coverage in Current Roll Format 5A and 5B Format 5C and 5D 20

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision Providing elector information in requisite formats Annexure 2.7 - Polling Station Locations (PSL) Details 21

Pre-requisites to Seek Publication of Draft Roll in Summary Revision Providing elector information in requisite formats Annexure 2.8 - Information on Service Voters Annexure 2.9 -Polling Station Wise and Constituency wise information on Migrated Electors 22

Printing of Draft Electoral Rolls CEO sends the proposed revision schedule after completion of pre-revision activities ERO arranges printing and publication of Draft Rolls after: ECI approves the revision schedule Information is updated in control tables Completion of data entry in software The printed basic Roll is arranged Part wise in serial order and kept as one or more volumes as may be necessary in case of summary revision 23

Publication of Draft Electoral Rolls Under Rule 10 of RER,1960, ERO publishes the Roll in Draft by making copy available for inspection and displaying a notice in Form 5: At his office, within the Constituency At place specified by him, if his office is outside the Constituency Pdf format of Roll (only in text mode) is uploaded at CEO s website in public domain on the same day of publishing the Roll From the website, ERO should be able to verify for every claim (Form 6) received whether the voter is already a registered voter elsewhere in same Constituency or the district Electoral Roll for all Constituencies in a State or even District is published on the same day. 24

Publication of Draft Electoral Rolls Publication of Roll includes all Parts of Roll of Assembly Constituency and service Voters list in the last Part. Draft Rolls are published in the Polling Station so that the general electors can easily check and file their claims/objections Publication is not made on public holiday ERO ensures copies of Rolls published in all languages are identical 25

Safe custody of Copy of Roll published as Draft ERO prepares an authentic copy of Roll, each page ink signed by two assigned officers after the Roll is published as Draft Authentic copy of Roll is kept with DEO and CEO for reference and record purposes. Publicity to Programme of Publication of Draft Electoral Rolls Programme of Draft publication is intimated in writing to all recognized political parties, local bodies, MPs, MLAs at least one week in advance Mass media like television, newspapers etc is used to publicize the same After the Draft publication, a meeting of recognized political parties is called to request to scrutinize and provide their suggestions in a specified time period 26

Booth Level Agents (BLAs) BLAs are appointed by the political parties to help in management of Electoral Rolls Informs Appoints Election Commission Political Party Booth Level Agents Duties - Assists people in filing claim/objection properly - Remains present during the campaigns and help BLOs - Verifies and conducts survey of the dead and shifted electors - Is responsible if the survey is faulty - Understands and scrutinizes the Electoral Roll during meeting with BLO - Helps continuous updating of the Electoral Roll 27

Booth Level Volunteers (BLVs) BLVs are volunteers appointed by the DEO to help the BLO in doing his work. They may be office bearers of RWAs, members of NGOs etc. Duties Assists people in filing claim/objection properly Verifies and conducts survey of the dead and shifted electors Understands and scrutinizes the Electoral Roll during meeting with BLO Helps continuous updating of the Electoral Roll Helps in ensuring purity of electoral rolls Helps in SVEEP programme 28

Free supply of copies of Draft Electoral Roll to Recognized Political parties ERO provides free of cost 2 copies of Roll to every political party as directed by ECI under Rule 11 (c) of RER, 1960 One soft pdf copy and one hard print copy of Rolls are shared with political parties as directed by ECI Soft copy only indicates that photograph is available against the elector s details and hard copy contains the photographs ERO provides free of cost 2 complete sets of Electoral Rolls both during summary revision and intensive revision EROs/DEOs ensures that all the Parts of the Rolls are published and shared with the political parties at the stage of the Draft publication Soft copies of Electoral Rolls without images are given within a week on payment to all concerned persons by CEOs/DEOs/EROs 29

Actions after Draft publication and before Final publication ERO sends a certificate to CEO in prescribed Form in regard to the names of MPs & MLAs continued in the Electoral Roll ERO reports to CEO immediately in case of any omission of member name from the Electoral Roll CEO reports to ECI for all such omission cases every year After publication of Draft Roll, CEO/DEO and ERO calls recognized political parties to give their suggestions for any corrections in the Draft Roll ERO also scrutinizes Rolls himself at this stage like individual households showing more than 10 electors, death registers etc. ERO arranges for reading aloud of each Part of the Roll before the concerned Gram Sabha/ Ward Committee ERO analyses the health indicators of the roll like gender ratio etc. 30

Actions after Draft publication and before Final publication Analysis of Health of the Rolls Elector to population ratio is studied and reported to ECI revealing the age-wise under or over enrollments in comparison to census figures Age cohort analysis of the electors in the Roll with census population for various ages groups is carried out (annexure 2.4) Polling Station wise abnormal addition and deletion over last 3 years is identified, verified, corrected and reported to ECI (annexure 2.5) Data on EPIC & photo coverage in photo Electoral Roll is analyzed in the prescribed formats (annexure 2.6) Provide list of new Polling Stations created since last publication to ECI for analysis and record (annexure 2.7) Data on voters registered but found absent (ESR- Expired, Shifted, Repeated) during field verification is collected and appropriate action is taken under Rule 21A of RER, 1960 (annexure 2.8). (In election years, instructions of the Commission are to be followed during suo motu deletions.) ERO exhibits on the notice board of his office, list of names to be deleted from the Roll to invite any objections. 31

Actions after Draft publication and before Final publication Complete report on service voters is sent to ECI (annexure 2.9) Roll observers appointed by ECI visit Districts to check and report on the disposal of claims and objections, and the quality of the Draft published. Before scrutinizing the Rolls, ERO prepares under Rule 22 of RER,1960: List of amendments List of dead persons and ceased to be ordinarily residents 32

Procedure for disposal of Claims and Objections 33

Forms of Claims and Objections Claims and Objections during Revision For an accurate and error-free Electoral Roll claims and objections are made for addition/deletion/ transposition/ correction of entries in the electoral rolls Forms of Claims, Objections and Corrections The applicants applying for addition/deletion/correction/transposition should fill the following Forms Form 6 Inclusion of name (Service personnel to attach Form of declaration ) Form 6A Inclusion of name of overseas electors Form 7 Objection to addition/seeking deletion of name Form 8 Correction to a particular entry Form 8A Transposition of name from one Part to another Part in same AC 34

Receipt of Forms of Claims and Objections Only individual applications are to be accepted, except for an individual presenting the applications of the same households BLO/DO/AERO/ERO should not receive Forms in bulk submitted by one person on behalf of many persons not belonging to the same family (BLAs can submit upto 10 applications per day and a total of 30 applications during the entire revision) It should be noted that Form is not unsigned or without thumb impression (rule 17 of RER, 1960) No column in the Form is left blank Lists of the received forms shall be prepared in forms 9,10,11 and 11A and be displayed at ERO s notice board, Polling Station notice board, Website of CEO Form 6 Form 8 Form 7 Form 8A 35

Preliminary Checking of Form 6 Applicants shifting residence in the same Constituency should be guided to file application in Form 8A and not Form 6 for transposition of entry Details of the immediate family members (father, mother, husband, siblings) already enrolled in the current Rolls should be indicated for applicants applying for the first time on attaining age 18 years. Date of birth and age should be indicated. Where age is not known, approximate age as on qualifying date should be written For applicants between age 18-25 years, name and relation should be checked with respect to the applicant s family members already enrolled Underage applicant should not get enrolled EPIC details should also be reflected in the Form Non EPIC holders of 25+ age-group should give a declaration in the Form as given in Annexure 5.7 of ERO s Handbook. 36

Preliminary Checking of Form 6 Annexure 5.7 For an Elector of 25 + age group not having an EPIC 37

Preliminary Checking of Form 6 Part II of Form 6 complete address ordinary residence address with proof should be checked. The proof can be any of the following documents Bank/Kisan/Post Office/Pass Book/ Ration card/driving license/passport/ Gas connection/telephone/electricity/water bill etc. For Homeless persons, residence proof may not be insisted upon. If an applicant has been staying at an address for one year or more but not enrolled, then the circumstances why s/he has not applied should be ascertained and recorded on the application Form Applicants should be advised to fill in the details like Part no., serial no. and EPIC no. of their immediate family members in Part III of Form 6 The applicant must fill Part IV related to the full details of previous enrollment especially the address The declaration of Part IV, at the end of Form 6 should be complete in all respects. Check that a declaration of non-inclusion of name, should be attached by Service personnel along with Form 6 38

Preliminary Checking of Form 7 and 8 Form 7 Form should not be received without details of the objector and person objected to. The Form without complete details may be rejected under rule 17 Form 8 Forms should have the exact details of the entries to be corrected in Part IV The applicant must attach the supporting documents wherever needed 39

Handling the Forms Received Every DO and BLO should prepare list of the entries in duplicate in Form 9 of the claims received in Form 6 in Form 10 of the objections to the inclusion of names received in Form7 in Form 11 of the application for objection to particular details received in Form 8 in Form 11A of the applications for transposition received in Form 8A The DO (Designated Officer) should display the copies of these Forms on notice board at the Designated Location The DO should maintain the lists under Rule 15 of RER, 1960 EROs should also maintain the 4 lists of Forms under rule 16 of RER, 1960 and enter the entries directly received from AERO / DO/BLO ERO should keep the exhibited list on notice board till the disposal of claims and objections ERO should get all forms computerized in ERMS as soon as they are received so that they become visible on the CEO website and can be tracked by the applicant on the website and by SMS All claims and objections have to be exhibited on CEO s website for atleast 7 days before EROs decide on them. 40

Disposal of Claims and Objections All Form 6 without particulars of previous EPIC and more than 25 years of age should be checked and confirmed that they are not enrolled in some other area All Forms 6 with previous EPIC details should be enrolled by informing the ERO of the previous area to delete the entry from that area and transfer the photo of that concerned elector ERO may refer applications (Form 6,7,8,8A) to the AERO for disposal in accordance with law and both ERO and AERO can get the details locally verified by the verifying officers ERO can reject the claims/objections not received during the period mentioned, under rule 17 of RER, 1960 ERO may directly allow the entry in the Roll under rule 18 of RER, 1960, if he/she is satisfied with the details or may verify in case if doubt 41

Disposal of Claims and Objections ERO may ask the verifying Officer (Designated Officer, BLO etc.) to verify facts and receive entries with remarks in small batches either daily, weekly or whenever the number of applications exceed 50 An individual notice with date and time of hearing should be sent to the applicants in case of inquiry. The ERO has to give notice of hearing In case of a claim to the claimant in Form 12 (annexure 5.12) appended to RER, 1960. In case of an objection to the inclusion of name, notice to objector in Form 13 (annexure 5.13) In case of an objection to the, notice to the person objected to Form 13 (Annexure 5.13) In case of objection to a particular or an entry Form 15 (annexure 5.15) 42

Disposal of Claims and Objections Form 12 (Annexure 5.12) 43

Disposal of Claims and Objections Form 13 (Annexure 5.13) 44

Disposal of Claims and Objections Form 14 (Annexure 5.14) 45

Disposal of Claims and Objections Form 15 (Annexure 5.15) 46

Disposal of Claims and Objections Validity of any claim or objection can be allowed by ERO without further inquiry after the expiry of one week from the date on which it is entered in the list exhibited by him. (Rule 18, RER 1960) The ERO has power to require any claimant, objector, person objected to, to appear in person before him for clarification and sub-rule (3) of rule 20 of RER, 1960, ERO can ask the information on oath / affidavit. ERO should record the decisions with the reasons and should enter the decision just below the entries in the respective Forms 9,10,11, 11A List of applications accepted and rejected should be displayed on the notice board for any claim or objections Form 6, 7, 8 and 8A ERO should get the facts verified by the verification officer where the verifying officer should submit full particulars of verification like date of visit, if the person was physically present etc 47

Disposal of Claims and Objections If the ERO is not satisfied of the age proof of the applicant even after the verification, he/she may take the evidence on oath of applicant as well as any member of family Form 7 should be carefully scrutinized so that they are not used to delete names of genuine electors In doubtful cases, where persons are not found at home during verification, ERO should send an individual notice with a date and time of hearing either before ERO or AERO In case of inconvenience in traveling hearing could be held at the village/taluka/zonal offices 48

Matters of Citizenship The ERO should ensure that all the entries made are fully eligible for conditions of registration Citizen of India being one condition should be verified completely Important points Officer concerned will bear in mind the Constitution and Citizenship Act, 1955 and all other provisions related to the citizenship before passing the order Though the onus of proof of citizenship lies on applicant, the ERO must be satisfied with all the proofs which can be any of the following - National Register of Citizens (NRC) - Citizenship certificate issued by competent authority - Valid passport by Government of India - Birth Certificate etc. If still not satisfied the ERO should refer the matter to the competent authority under the relevant law 49

Documentary Proof of Age (Refer ECI Circular No.23/2010-ERS-Vol-II dated 5 th April, 2013) No documentary proof of age is required if the age is obviously more that the age of eligibility. Documentary proof may be asked for only when age is borderline and can not be assessed by visual inspection of the applicant Certificate or mark-sheet of class 12, 10, 8 or 5; certificate of a sarpanch, councillor, ward member etc. are accepted as age proof 50

Documentary proof of residence Documentary proof of residence may not be insisted if it is not available specially in case of homeless persons, tenants who have disputes with landlords, sex workers etc. In such cases the BLO or some other officers can verify by visiting the place of residence mentioned in the application form that the applicant actually lives there 51

Supervision and Checks Chief Electoral Officer Superintendence, direction and Control of Elections Under sub-section (3) of Section 13 AA of RPA 1950 DEO Coordinate and Supervise all work related to E-Rolls ERO Test checks quality of disposal of Forms 6,6A,7,8, and 8A 10% of Forms disposed by AEROs AERO Randomly field verifies 1% of entries in Roll Supervisor Verify 5% of each of BLOs work BLO Proper verification of Forms 6,6A,7,8, and 8A 52

Suo- Motu Action by ERO after Draft Publication Submission of statements by persons holding declared offices or having service qualification in forms 1, 2, 2A and 3 Verification in the manner specified in the form. (Rule 7 of RER 1960). [Registration in the roll for the constituency in which, but for holding such office or having such qualification, he would have been ordinarily resident]. ERO will prepare the list of entries for inclusion, deletion and display on the notice board with time and place where actions would be taken Unexecuted non-bailable warrant (NBW) cases The person on whom an NBW remains unexecuted for a period of 6 months or more is not considered as the ordinary resident of the address mentioned ERO may take suo-motu action of deleting the name after giving due notice with date and time of hearing 53

Appeal Against ERO's Decision ERO's decision can be appealed to Appellate Officer in Form of a memorandum under rule 23 of RER, 1960 Appeal can be for the decisions under rule 20, 21 and 21A of RER only The appeal cannot be considered if he has not availed himself of the right to be heard or make representation to the EROs On receiving an appeal, the Appellate Officer would check if the appeal is received in time. Time-barred appeals would be rejected unless delay is duly condoned call for the records of the concerned ERO give opportunity to ERO to be heard shall take the necessary actions and dispose the appeal in maximum 3 weeks The changes made shall be considered from the date of decision taken ERO to make the changes after the decision taken 54

Final Publication of Electoral Roll 55

List of Amendments (Supplements) Final Roll is the Draft Roll with the lists of supplements prepared in the prescribed format. Supplements have three components: 1. Component I Additions 2. Component II Deletions 3. Component III Corrections All components of supplements are in same language as of basic Electoral Roll published as Draft Serial numbers for voters in Supplement - Component I is the continuation of last serial number in draft Roll If there are no entries in one or more components, nil is entered under the relevant heading In case of all nil amendments, nil Final lists of amendments are prepared 56

Statistical Analysis in Format 1 to 8 Assembly and PS wise analysis of EP ratio, Sex ratio, Age Cohorts, additions and deletions percentages against expected values Permission to be sought from ECI for final publication based on Statistical Analysis 57

Printing of Final Roll PDF copy of supplements with summary sheet is printed as soon as the Final lists of amendments are prepared and Finalized Name and designation of ERO is printed at the end of all copies of Final lists of amendments Parallel to the above, a pdf copy of supplements is appended to draft Roll and complete set of Electoral Roll is uploaded on CEO s website in public domain with search facility 58

Printing of Final Roll Title page with date of publication should be added on the top The order of pages stitched together are: title page, table of contents, general Part of Electoral Roll and last Part (service voters) of Electoral Roll Notice is displayed in Form 16 for statutory publication of Electoral Roll (Annexure 6.1) ERO ensures the correct arrangement and completion of Electoral Roll before sending it for publication 59

Annexure 6.1 60

Free Supply of Copies to Recognized Political Parties ERO supplies free of cost two complete sets of Electoral Rolls to all the recognized political parties in the State (Both National and State recognized parties) after every publication of Roll One copy is hard copy and other is soft PDF copy Soft PDF copy has only elector details without photographs. It only indicates whether photographs are available ERO prepares an authentic copy of Roll with each page ink signed by two assigned officers. Copy of authentic Roll is kept with DEO for record purposes. 61

Final Roll in an Election Year In the election year: Authentic copy of Roll is computer generated copy and all deletions are strike through in the mother Roll by software DELETED is imprinted diagonally across the elector s box in the photo Roll whose name is in deletion list with the authenticated signatures in red ink Hash(#) mark is imprinted against the original record in Draft Roll to signify the correction entry in the supplement Photo as in supplement is inscribed across the photo box for the photographs either added/ corrected/ deleted Another supplement to the Finally published copy of Roll is prepared due to the continuation of elector registration till last day of the nominations. The same procedure follows for additions/deletions/ corrections for this supplement 62

Final Roll in Non-Election Year In the non-election year: Final Roll is published similarly as in the election year with only difference of: No need of marking strike-through or # in the basic Roll to indicate changes effected in the supplements Basic Roll is not re-printed at the time of Final publication Number of copies required for Final publication is easily assessed and printed while printing the Draft Roll 63

Custody and Upkeep of Electoral Rolls and Connected Papers Following papers are kept in EROs office or at place specified by CEO after Roll is Finally published under Sub-rule(1) of Rule 32 of RER, 1960: A complete copy of Roll Statements submitted to ERO under Rule 7 Statements submitted to ERO under Rule 8 Register of enumeration Forms Applications related to preparation of Roll Manuscript Parts prepared by enumerating agencies and used for compiling Papers related to claims and objections Papers related to appeals under Rule 23 Applications under Section 22 & 23 of RPA,1950 Electoral Roll for each Polling booth is kept with the mother Roll folder related 64 to intensive/summary revision plus all supporting documents as directed by ECI

Inspection & Certified Copy of Electoral Rolls (Ref: Rules 32 and 33 of RER 1960) Certified copy of relevant portions of Electoral Rolls and connected papers can be given Only certified copy of entry related to oneself in photo Roll can be obtained by an applicant Attested/certified copies of complete Electoral Roll is supplied under Right to Information Act 2005 or Rule 23 of RER,1960 if demanded Individual entries or selective pages are not provided under RTI 65

Annexure 6.2 & 6.3 Annexure 6.2 Annexure 6.3 66

Application Received Under RTI is Dealt in Context of Section 8(1)(j) of RTI, 2005 67

Returning Officers (RO) and Electoral Roll for Conduct of Elections Electoral Roll including all supplements carrying modifications till last day of nominations is the Final Roll used for the purpose of conduct of election RO allows inspection of the complete Roll of the Constituency RO provides identical copies of Final Electoral Roll to the candidates of recognized political parties of the State within three days after the date of withdrawals and Finalization of candidate. This is not necessary during bye elections 68

Returning Officers (RO) and Electoral Roll for Conduct of Elections One copy of Final Roll is used for marking the names of electors who are issued postal ballot (PB) and election duty certificates (EDC) Proxy voter list in the prescribed format is attached to this copy of Roll set apart for marking Three more identical copies of this Final Roll is given to presiding officer and Polling team to conduct elections and are called Working Copies of Roll 69

RO and Electoral Roll for Conduct of Elections Commission had received representation in the past for the arbitrary deletions of entries in the Electoral Rolls used by Polling parties In the same context, ECI issued some instructions: Copies of Electoral Rolls supplied to candidates should be identical to working copy of Roll supplied to polling party except the PB, EDC markings and proxy voter s list Working copy with PB, EDC markings is shown to agents and candidates before polling so that they can compare entries, deletions and corrections with their copies Three working copies, statutory marked should be sealed and submitted to RO for safe custody Names should be printed alphabetically in the Roll for easy identification and search of voters for PSLs with multiple Polling Stations. 70

Number of Copies of the Rolls to be printed Number of copies of Roll required to be printed are calculated on the following points: Supplied to the recognized political parties free of cost For sale to political parties and candidates Use at the time of General/Bye election Kept for use in the office of CEO/DEO and ERO Preserved as record Given to State Election Commission For Final publication Kept on the reserve stock Assessment of requirement of copies in each language is made separately 71

THANKS