Bhubaneswar: The Odisha State Election Commission (SEC) will launch a statewide door-to-door voter verification drive from October 26 as part of the preparation of electoral rolls for the upcoming Panchayat and Urban Local Body (ULB) elections. The exercise, scheduled to continue until November 7, will begin after the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list.
The decision was taken at a review meeting chaired by State Election Commission officials and attended via video conference by all district magistrates, municipal commissioners, and Municipal Corporation commissioners on Tuesday. SEC Secretary Santosh Kumar Dash said survey teams would be constituted by July 31 to ensure the smooth conduct of the exercise.
Each team will comprise Booth Level Officers (BLOs), Anganwadi workers, and ASHA workers, who will carry out house-to-house verification to identify eligible voters, update the electoral rolls, and remove discrepancies.
According to the Commission, the draft publication and subsequent revision process will culminate in the publication of the final electoral rolls for all wards across the state by February 10, providing the basis for the conduct of the Panchayat and ULB elections.
As part of its poll preparedness, the Commission also decided to repair old ballot boxes and procure additional new ones to meet the requirements of the elections.
In a move aimed at ensuring free and fair polls, the SEC will also introduce a de-duplication application to detect duplicate voter registrations. The digital tool will help ensure that no voter is enrolled in more than one constituency or allowed to cast votes from multiple locations.
The Commission said the verification exercise is intended to improve the accuracy of the electoral rolls and strengthen the integrity of the electoral process ahead of the state’s local body elections.
