What happens if your name goes missing from voters’ list? What options do you have?

India is holding the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, with 96 constituencies across nine states and one Union Territory (UT) polling on Monday (13 May). As per reports, some electors, including the elderly and young, in Maharashtra’s Pune have complained that they could not exercise their franchise as their names were missing from the voters’ list.

Former Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal Pradeep Vasant Naik also said that his wife Madhubala’s name was deleted from the voters’ list. He told the news agency PTI that he, his wife and their son went to polling booth 26 at Sampling School Baner Road in Pune to cast their ballots.

ACM Naik said that while he and his son were able to exercise their franchise, “my 72-year-old wife’s name was found deleted from the voters’ list. When we brought this to the attention of the official there, he said that there was nothing he could do to help.”

“We had the necessary slips given by the local corporator with us when we reached the polling centre. But it was of no use as my wife’s name was not there on the list,” the former IAF chief told the news agency.

Similar complaints have also been made by other voters in Pune. However, this is not the first time that reports of names missing from the electoral list have emerged.

During the third phase of polling on 7 May when parts of Pune voted in the election in the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, electors who had appeared at their old polling booth did not find their names in the list, reported Indian Express.

Last week, members of the National Society of Clean Cities flagged missing names to the Pune Cantonment officials, especially in Koregaon Park and Kalyaninagar.

A Koregaon resident, who had voted in previous elections and found his name deleted from the list this time, told Times of India (TOI), “How can my name be deleted without following mandatory checks”.

But why is this happening? Why does a voter’s name go missing from the electoral list? What can you do if your name is not there? We explain.

Why did voters’ names go missing in Pune?

According to Pune’s election officers, as many as 2.39 lakh names were added and 17,749 voters were deleted from the electoral rolls between 23 January and 15 April this year, as per the Indian Express report.

This came after the district election office conducted an exercise in October to rationalise polling booths. The election officers said this was needed in view of the total number of votes that one electronic voting machine (EVM) can register, the newspaper reported.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI), a single EVM can hold a maximum of 2,000 votes but is usually approved to store 1,500 votes.

The electoral rolls were “invariably” divided among polling stations leading to people flagging that their names were missing in their old polling booths, as per the report.

“Names have not been deleted. Instead, they might have been shifted from one booth to another. In case the voter is not able to find their names in the list – it would be advisable to check in the nearby booths. Deletion of names is an extreme exercise and is rarely done so,” an officer told Indian Express.

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Conditions for deleting names

There are several rules for deleting an elector’s name from the voter’s list. These include the death of a person, if a voter goes missing, if a person’s name appears twice, and if a voter shifts from one Assembly constituency to another.

If an elector is not found during a door-to-door survey, then their name could be deleted, as per Indian Express.

If someone has changed their residence and has not updated it with the ECI in the voter ID, their name will not be on the electoral roll of their new constituency. These names may appear in the person’s old constituency, noted Indian Express.

A list of deleted names is prepared for suggestions and objections before being removed from the electoral list, the newspaper report added.

What if your name is deleted?

The voters whose names have been deleted from the electoral list will not be able to cast their votes in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

However, district officers in Pune told Indian Express that such voters can immediately register by filling out Form 8 so they can exercise their franchise in the Maharashtra Assembly elections slated to be held later this year.

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How to check if your name is on the voter’s list?

Any adult who has registered to vote and/or voted in the last time elections took place can find their names in the voters’ list of their constituency.

Those who turned 18 as of 1 April 2024 are also eligible to exercise their franchise in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. They can enrol themselves by filling out Form 6.

Before visiting the polling booth, electors must check if their name is on the voter’s list.

This can be done by visiting the ECI’s website (electoralsearch.eci.gov.in) or the ECI’s Voter Helpline app.

On the ECI’s website, submit your Voter ID or EPIC (Elector’s Photo Identification Card) number, state, and language and enter the Captcha Code.

There are other options as well such as entering your registered mobile number with the ECI or submitting your personal details like name, age, gender and so on.

If you are a registered voter but cannot find your name in the electoral list, you can fill out the relevant form before the last date of nomination. You can visit voters.eci.gov.in to do that.

Notably, the ECI recommends applying for the inclusion of your name in the electoral roll at least seven days before the nomination deadline ends.

The last day for filing nominations for the seventh phase is 14 May. The nomination deadline is over for the rest of the phases, meaning voters for the fifth and sixth phases cannot enrol now.