How Does the Electoral Roll Search Work in India?

As the largest democracy globally, India has continued to be an example of conducting free and fair elections. Having the second-largest national population globally with 1.38 billion people, it remains India’s responsibility to reflect the vox populi on the ballot boxes. So, as a voter, you can conduct an electoral roll search to ensure your opinions can be expressed during the polls.

Team Digit

What Is the Electoral Roll?

The electoral roll is an all-inclusive list of registered eligible voters for a specific jurisdiction pertaining to a particular election. This documentation is done by the Election Commission of India, an autonomous constitutional body with the highest authority to decide electoral frameworks of this country. Therefore, the commission also remains responsible for updating the details of this record recurrently.

What Are the Different Types of Electoral Rolls in India?

Being a federal democracy, rules and regulations of electoral procedures can differ from one state to another in India. Therefore, in certain states of the country, there are two distinct types of electoral rolls in use:

The electoral roll for panchayat and municipality elections
Electoral roll for parliamentary and assembly elections

Functions of Electoral Roll in India

In India, every individual over legal age of 18 years old has a constitutional right to cast a ballot if he or she can meet specific criteria:

A voter is a residential or non-residential citizen of India
An NRI voter cannot have citizenship from another country besides India
This elector is of sound mental health
There is a permanent address of this voter
The voter is not part of any special categories
An elector has not declared financial bankruptcy

If you meet these aforementioned categories, you can register yourself in the electoral roll for the constituency in which you reside. In order to do so, you can submit the required paperwork to election authorities via online or offline methods.

After proper verification of documents, authorities will be including your name and associated details in the electoral roll. Please note that, other than the Election Commission of India, other entities responsible for the publication and updating of this list include:

State Election Commissions
The Chief Electoral Officers of these respective states

Once an updated list has been published, you can conduct an electoral roll search to ensure all of your details have been recorded without any error.

How to Check the Electoral Roll?

In order to search your name in the electoral roll, you will need to follow these simple steps as discussed below:

Step 1: Visit electoral roll-oriented portal of the Election Commission of India

Step 2: Click on tab titled “Link to Voter Search”

Step 3: Choose option “Search in Electoral Roll”

Step 4: Select “Search by Details” or “Search by EPIC No.” as it best suits you

Step 5: Input relevant data as required. For EPIC-based search, you will have to offer the number of your Election Photo Identity Card and name of your state. On the other hand, to conduct a personal details-based electoral roll search, you will have to provide data like:

Your name
The name of your spouse or parent, as fitted
Your age or your date of birth
The state where you reside in

Step 6: After filling out these details, enter captcha code exactly how it is being displayed on your screen. Please keep in mind that this code is case-sensitive

Step 7: A new tab called “Number of Records Found” will be shown onscreen. Under header “Action”, click on the button with words “View Details”

Step 8: All relevant voter information about you, as recorded in the electoral roll, will be available on this next screen. These data points include details such as:

Assembly Constituency
Parliamentary Constituency
Gender
Polling Station, etc.

What Are the Benefits of Electoral Roll in India?

There are manifold benefits to keeping an up-to-date electoral roll for elections in India. Some of these reasons include the following:

Such a comprehensive document can streamline ballot casting procedure on the day of an election
Risk of electoral duplicity can be largely mitigated
Keeping a tab on the percentage of total voter turnout for specific elections
Voter registration details can remain open for public scrutiny
Different levels of government bodies in a federal democracy like India can share voter-related information among themselves without getting obstructed by red tapes

As it is relevant from the discussion above, maintaining an adequate record of eligible enlisted voters is a cornerstone of establishing a representative and constitutional government. In order to ensure that you can practice your right to vote, it is always ideal to conduct an electoral roll search beforehand.

FAQs About Electoral Roll

All

How to know the part number of an electoral roll?

Part number of the electoral roll is a code signifying your area of residence. You can find out the part number of an electoral roll from the website of your state’s Chief Electoral Officer.

Why is electoral roll verification necessary?

Verifying an electoral roll ensures that you are eligible to vote for an upcoming poll as a registered elector.

Where can I avail the services of the electoral roll from?

The services of the electoral roll can be availed by visiting the official website of the Electoral Commision of India or EIC.