The Election Commission on Thursday ordered a Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls in 17 states and Union Territories, giving another opportunity to eligible citizens whose names were left out after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Draft rolls will be published on November 12, while claims and objections can be filed until December 11. The final electoral rolls will be published on January 4, 2027.
Deletions are to be processed through the prescribed Form 7 rather than solely on the basis of a software match, according to reports. Voters who cannot find their names can check the electoral roll through the Election Commission’s voter services portal and apply for inclusion using Form 6. Those seeking a change of address or correction to an existing entry can use Form 8. The announcement affects Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur, where Assembly elections are due in 2027. Rahul Gandhi alleged, in a representation to the Chief Justice, that the number of registered voters in Punjab fell from 2.14 crore in June 2026 to 1.93 crore in the draft roll published in August. Separately, on October 15, the Supreme Court sought responses to a petition filed by INDIA bloc leaders alleging irregularities in voter deletions and electoral database decisions. For voters in the 17 affected states and Union Territories, the next step is to check the draft electoral roll when it is published on November 12 and submit any claims or objections before the December 11 deadline.
In a case concerning a Goa voter’s missing name, the Election Commission told the Bombay High Court that absence from a draft SIR roll did not technically mean that a voter had been deleted, as the list was being prepared afresh. The Commission said it would announce dates later for areas where SIR work is continuing or has recently concluded, including Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The latest SSR instructions also address deletions. This places a formal application at the centre of the deletion process. Filing an application does not, by itself, guarantee inclusion. Disputes over exclusions have become particularly acute in Punjab. These figures form part of his allegation and are not a finding by any court. Questions over the SIR have already reached the judiciary. The court has reserved its judgment. The allegations have not been decided by the court. Separate revision schedules will be issued for Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, taking weather conditions into account.
What the new electoral roll revision means for voters
The exercise covers 14 states: Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. The SIR has been completed in 16 of these jurisdictions. The SSR will use January 1, 2027, as its main qualifying date. The Commission will also accept advance applications from people who become eligible on April 1, July 1 or October 1, 2027. After the draft rolls are published on November 12, electors will have until December 11 to submit claims and objections. Officials will examine these applications before releasing the final rolls on January 4. The process follows a dispute over an additional declaration linked to Form 6, which is used to apply for voter registration. The Election Commission has removed that additional online declaration in jurisdictions where the SIR has ended, reverting to the prescribed Form 6 for ordinary enrolment. Earlier reporting noted: EC offers SSR lifeline amid furore over SIR The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday ordered a special summary revision of electoral rolls in 17 states and Union territories, the first such exercise in nearly two years that is expected to not only help Gen Z and first-time voters but also those deleted by the controversial special intensive revision . Earlier reporting noted: The SSR – which will be conducted between November 2 and December 28, with the final roll published on January 4, 2027 – will also provide political parties with machine-readable PDFs of the draft and final electoral roll, fulfilling a longstanding demand of opposition parties. Earlier reporting noted: “The commission has issued instructions dated 29.09.2026 to undertake a special drive for the enrolment of left out/young/first time eligible electors. Now, in order to facilitate the enrolment of eligible electors with reference to the qualifying date of 1st January, 2027 along with seeking advance applications for the three subsequent qualifying dates of 1st April, 1st July & 1st October, 2027, the commission hereby directs that the existing electoral rolls shall be revised by conducting a Special Summary Revision (SSR),” ECI said in a letter to chief electoral officers of 17 regions.
This was part of a slew of changes announced by ECI to SSR , which also included greater sharing of data on additions, deletions and modifications to the roll. The decision marks a return to the Election Commission’s annual exercise of updating existing voter lists. Unlike the SIR, under which electoral rolls were prepared afresh through intensive verification, the SSR will take the existing lists as its starting point and process applications for additions, corrections and deletions. The SSR gives them another opportunity to seek inclusion, although the announcement does not automatically restore any name omitted during the SIR. Every application will still have to be examined by electoral officials. The three Union Territories are Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep and Puducherry. Assam is the exception, as the Commission had opted for a separate revision process there instead of an SIR.
The difference is significant for people who were previously registered but did not find their names on the new rolls. The review follows an earlier Election Commission direction for special enrolment drives targeting young, first-time and other eligible voters left out of the lists. During the SIR, applicants were asked to establish a link between themselves, or their relatives, and electoral rolls from an earlier intensive revision.
