In a significant development for Goa's electoral landscape, the state's chief electoral officer Sanjay Goel announced on Sunday that approximately 90,000 voter names have been identified for exclusion from the draft electoral roll. The massive voter list cleanup comes as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise that has already digitized 96.5% of enumeration forms.
Massive Voter List Cleanup Underway
The electoral revision exercise has processed forms for 10.55 lakh voters out of Goa's total 11.85 lakh registered voters. According to official statements, only 40,000 forms representing 3.5% of voters remain pending as the submission deadline approaches. The identified exclusions stem from voters being marked as absent, shifted, dead, or duplicate entries.
Goel issued an urgent appeal to the remaining 40,000 voters who haven't submitted their forms to do so immediately to avoid complications. "The list of excluded voters will be published on the CEO's website and displayed at major public offices," he stated, emphasizing the transparency of the process.
Citizenship Verification for 2.2 Lakh Voters
In a startling revelation, the revision process uncovered that approximately 2.2 lakh voters currently appearing in electoral rolls could not be matched with the 2002 electoral register. This means neither their names nor their parents' names could be identified in the 2002 records, raising questions about their citizenship status during that period.
While these names will initially appear in the draft roll, affected voters must submit documents establishing that their parents were Indian citizens in 2002. "Ultimately, the ERO has to be satisfied that the voter is a genuine voter of Goa," Goel explained, adding that officers have been instructed to exercise careful judgment during summary hearings.
Revised Schedule and Voter Rights
The Election Commission has extended all relevant dates by one week for the ongoing special intensive revision. The draft electoral roll will now be published on December 16, after which voters can file claims and objections between December 16 and January 15. The final electoral roll will be published after February 14, instead of the originally scheduled February 7.
Voters whose names are marked for exclusion due to being erroneously categorized as absent, dead, or shifted can file objections using Form 6. "Booth level officers visited affected households two to three times before marking them for deletion," Goel clarified, highlighting the thoroughness of the verification process.
In a crucial clarification, Goel stated that the ongoing revision exercise is separate from the zilla panchayat elections. Voters whose names appear in ZP rolls and who have received voting slips can participate in those elections regardless of their status in the special intensive revision.
The CEO also issued a stern warning that maintaining voter registration in multiple constituencies is a criminal offence punishable by one-year imprisonment. As of Sunday morning, authorities had identified 1,787 duplicate voters across the state, underscoring the importance of the cleanup exercise.
