Delhi SIR: voters cut from draft roll get new chance till 22 December

Representative image. Election Commission of India, GODL-India, Wikimedia Commons

Why it matters

A name missing from the final roll means no vote in the next election held on that roll. The new route spares long-time voters from signing a first-time voter declaration on Form 6, which many feared could expose them to a false-statement charge.

Delhi SIR update: voters who were dropped from the draft electoral roll after being marked absent, shifted, dead or duplicate will get one more chance to get back on the final list, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said on 6 November 2026. The same chance applies in Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana and Nagaland.

The Commission set this out in a letter dated 6 November to the chief electoral officers (CEOs) of the seven states and Union Territory, Hindustan Times reported. Instead of applying as new voters on Form 6, these electors can refill the enumeration form with a signed statement, and those accepted will keep the voter ID number (EPIC) they had before the revision, according to HT.

Delhi SIR: who gets the fresh chance

The order covers people who were issued enumeration forms during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the house-to-house check of voter lists, but whose forms did not come back and who were then marked under one of four heads known by the short form ASDD: Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate. Their names were left out of the draft roll as a result.

Booth-wise lists of these electors will be put up again on polling station notice boards, the letter said, according to HT. Scroll reported that the lists will also show the “probable reasons” each name was left out, will go up at government offices, and will be uploaded to each CEO’s website as a readable PDF.

Delhi is where the numbers are largest. The draft roll published on 31 August removed about 47 lakh names from roughly 1.45 crore electors, HT reported. By NewsPlainly’s calculation from those rounded figures, that is about 32% of the city’s electors.

What to do if your name is missing from the SIR draft roll

Booth-level officers (BLOs) will hand out fresh enumeration forms, and district election officers and electoral registration officers (EROs, the officials who maintain each constituency’s roll) have been told to reach every such elector in person or by WhatsApp, email or SMS, the reports said. Forms can also be downloaded and filled online using the earlier EPIC number, or submitted through ECINET, the Commission’s online portal. Here is what the reports say each group must do:

Your situation	What to submit	Where
Still at the same address, missed the first round	Signed enumeration form with a statement explaining why it was not submitted earlier	ERO, assistant ERO or BLO, in person, through a family member, or online with e-sign
Moved within the same state	Enumeration form, statement and proof of residence; Form 8 not needed	ERO of the new constituency; “Book a call with BLO” on the ECI website and app
Homeless, no address papers	Enumeration form; the BLO’s field verification report counts as proof of residence	Through the BLO
Already filed Form 6 during the SIR	Nothing new; the Form 6 application will be processed	No action needed

Forms will be accepted after officials verify eligibility and residence, and names that pass will go into the final roll, HT reported. Form 6, the application normally used to enrol as a new voter, remains open as an option, the Commission said, but it is not the only route any more.

Why Form 6 became a problem in the Delhi voter list case

Form 6 carries a declaration that the applicant is enrolling for the first time. A false statement on it can be punished under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, with up to a year in jail, a fine, or both, HT noted. Many people dropped from the draft had been on the rolls for years, so filing it felt like signing a false statement.

The question reached the Supreme Court, which is hearing a case on Delhi’s roll. On 28 October the bench asked why people deleted from the draft should apply as new voters and suggested Form 8, the form for address and other changes, or the enumeration process instead, HT reported. On 3 November the Commission said deleted voters could still use Form 6 and that the fear of a false declaration was misplaced, citing a Delhi High Court judgment of 14 October. We reported that clarification at the time.

Then on 5 November a division bench of the Bombay High Court at Goa held that existing voters who had only changed address could not be forced to file Form 6 and must be allowed Form 8. The Commission’s letter came the next day.

Final voter list dates in Delhi and the other six states

The fresh chance runs until the final rolls are prepared. After the Commission extended the schedule on 29 October, the final lists are due on these dates, Scroll reported:

State or UT	Final roll due	Days from 6 November
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, Nagaland	30 November 2026	24
Jharkhand (claims to be settled by 23 November)	30 November 2026	24
Delhi	22 December 2026	46

Delhi voters therefore have the longest window, about six and a half weeks, while those in the other six states have a little over three. The reports did not say whether the new step changes these dates. The seven are among 19 states and Union Territories in the third phase of the SIR, Scroll reported.

Frequently asked questions

My name is not in the Delhi SIR draft roll. Do I have to fill Form 6?

Not if you were marked absent, shifted, dead or duplicate. Under the EC's 6 November letter you can refill the enumeration form with a signed statement. Form 6 is still an option.

What is ASDD in the SIR voter list?

Absent, Shifted, Dead or Duplicate: the four reasons booth officers used to leave a name out of the draft roll when the enumeration form did not come back.

When will the final Delhi voter list be published?

On 22 December 2026, according to the schedule reported by Scroll. Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand and Nagaland are due on 30 November.