Overview
- The commission directed Booth Level Officers to visit homes and upload verification documents to the ECINet so most electors issued Special Intensive Revision notices need not attend Electoral Registration Officer hearings, a change announced on Monday.
- Physical hearings will be held only in exceptional cases and preferably online, and electors may authorise any adult family member to represent them during a hearing.
- The change comes as SIR deadlines were extended in several states, with Delhi allowed claim filings until October 30, disposal until November 30, and a final roll date of December 4, while Maharashtra set an October 12 filing cutoff and November 16 for its final list.
- BLOs report major added strain from the door-to-door work with some describing workdays of around 13 hours because they must collect documents, take photos and upload records while keeping their regular jobs.
- Election offices are running special campus and polling-station camps and accepting documents via WhatsApp to boost low re-enrolment rates, but large numbers of unmapped or discrepant voters and internal disagreements over implementation are creating operational and political pressure.