Delhi 11 March, 2025: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has taken an initiative to resolve the ongoing issue of duplicate EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) numbers within the next three months. To address this, voters with duplicate EPIC numbers will be assigned a unique National EPIC number.
This system will also be implemented for new voters in the future. However, regardless of the EPIC number, a voter can cast their vote only at their designated polling station. In 2000, during the allocation of EPIC series, some Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) failed to use the correct series, leading to duplicate EPIC numbers across various states and Union Territories. Since each state and Union Territory managed its voter list independently, the issue was not detected earlier.
The ECI’s technical team has now decided, after detailed discussions with Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs), to resolve this long-standing issue within three months. India’s Voter Database – The Largest in the World India has the world’s largest voter database, with over 990 million registered voters. The ECI continuously updates the electoral roll and conducts an annual Special Summary Revision (SSR), typically from October to December, with the final list published in January.
In states and Union Territories where elections are approaching, special revisions are conducted before the polls. For the Special Summary Revision (SSR) 2025, the schedule was released on August 7, 2024, and the final voter list was published between January 6-10, 2025. Transparent and Inclusive Voter List Preparation The voter registration and updating process is designed to be transparent and inclusive. EROs appoint Booth Level Officers (BLOs) from state government employees to verify voter details at each booth. Political parties can also appoint Booth Level Agents (BLAs) to assist in the verification process. BLAs have the right to examine the voter list and raise objections if any discrepancies are found.
After door-to-door verification by BLOs, recommendations are submitted to the EROs, who finalize updates to the voter list. The draft electoral roll is then published for public scrutiny, allowing political parties and citizens one month to file objections. After resolving all objections, the final electoral roll is published, accessible both at polling booths and online at https://voters.eci.gov.in/download-eroll. If a voter has any objections regarding the electoral roll, they can file a first appeal under Section 24(A) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 with the District Magistrate/Collector/Executive Magistrate. If dissatisfied with the decision, a second appeal can be filed with the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of the respective state or Union Territory under Section 24 of the RP Act, 1950. The Election Commission of India announced these developments through an official press note.
