Voters now have two options while registering: UP CEO Navdeep Rinwa

THe Uttar Pradesh Chief Electoral ship's officer (CEO), Navdeep Rinwa, said a special purvey has been reinforced into the online take form 6 scheme to allow voters whose names do not appear in the draft electoral roll after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) to apply for inclusion without losing continuity of their earlier registration.Rinwa, speaking to HT at ECI’s International Conference in New Delhi on Wednesday said that while filling Form 6 online, applicants are prompted to choose whether they are a “new voter” or an “existing voter before SIR 2026”. “If the applicant selects the option of existing voter before SIR, the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number has to be entered,” he said.According to Rinwa, the system validates the EPIC number to confirm that the name existed prior to the publication of the SIR draft roll.Also Read: EC cannot have ‘untrammelled’ power to conduct SIR, says Supreme Court“Once validated, the name and relationship details are auto-populated. The voter can then fill in the remaining details, make corrections and submit the form,” he said, adding that the process ensures continuity of the voter record.The clarification comes amid confusion over which statutory forms voters should use following the publication of the SIR draft electoral roll in Uttar Pradesh, after which complaints were raised by voters and opposition parties over the exclusion of shifted voters.Under the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) rules, Form 6 is used to apply for inclusion of a name in the electoral roll. It is meant for first-time voters as well as for applicants whose names do not appear in the draft roll. Form 8, on the other hand, is meant for existing voters whose names are present in the electoral roll and who seek corrections or changes, including a change of address. Form 7 is used to object to or seek deletion of names due to reasons such as death, permanent migration or duplication.Rinwa said the choice of form depends on whether the voter’s name appears in the draft roll. “Shifting through Form 8 can only be done when your name is in the existing electoral roll,” he said.He said that during the SIR enumeration phase, some voters who had shifted residences did not have their enumeration forms filled.“It is possible that when there was enumeration, people who had shifted could not be contacted and their enumeration form was not filled. In such cases, their name does not appear in the draft voter list,” Rinwa said.“If the name is not in the draft voter list, Form 8 cannot be filled. For such voters, Form 6 is the only option,” he added.Rinwa cited examples of voters who had shifted between cities such as Noida and Ghaziabad and later found their names missing from the draft roll.“They ask why their name was cut and why they should fill the form again. This is the way provided for them,” he said.He also said that voters who had completed enumeration at their old address during the SIR phase would continue to appear in the draft roll at that address and could then apply for shifting.