Page 3 - Voter Fraud

EC to seek death details digitally for more accurate electoral rolls

In a bid to update voters' list at a faster pace and make it free of errors, the Election Commission will now obtain death registration data electronically from the Registrar General of India. The EC said on Thursday this will ensure that the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) receive timely information about registered deaths and allow booth level officers (BLOs) to reverify the information through field visits, without waiting for a formal request by the kin of the deceased. The poll body has the authority under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 and the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 to seek such details. To make voter information slips (VIS) more voter friendly, the EC has also decided to modify its design. The serial number and part number of the voter will now be displayed more prominently, with increased font size, making it easier for voters to identify their polling station and for polling officials to locate their names in the electoral roll ...

Aadhaar sharing for voters to remain voluntary; no legal changes planned

As the Election Commission works to purify electoral rolls of duplicate entries, sources in the government asserted on Tuesday that Aadhaar sharing by voters on a voluntary basis as prescribed in the law will remain unaltered. They underlined that sharing Aadhaar details with poll authorities is voluntary under the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 and it will continue to remain so. The sources also noted that there is no plan to tweak the law or related rules in this regard. They were responding to questions on whether there was a proposal to make Aadhaar sharing compulsory as also whether voters who don't share details will have to explain before poll authorities the reasons for not giving out details. They said the ground rules will remain unaltered and no provision is proposed to be added as of now. Amid a debate on the purity of electoral rolls, the Election Commission had said last month that the regular updating process of the voter list will be strengthened in close ...

Voter list updates to be strengthened with birth, death records: EC

Amid a debate on the purity of electoral rolls, the Election Commission said on Thursday that the regular updating process of the voter list will be strengthened in close coordination with the birth and death registration authorities. Technical consultations between the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and experts of the EC will begin soon on voter list-Aadhaar linkage, it said, adding that though an elector can only vote in the assigned polling booth and nowhere else, the poll body has resolved to remove duplicates countrywide and end a decades-long issue within three months. "Regular updation of the voter list shall be strengthened in close coordination with the birth and death registration authorities," the EC said in a statement. In the EC's interactions with political parties, it was clarified that any inclusion or deletion in the draft elector list is governed by the process of appeals under relevant legal provisions for filing claims and objections available t

EC to introduce new option in its software to detect 'ghost' voters

Amid the Trinamool Congress raising the issue of 'fake voters', the Election Commission has decided to introduce a new option in its software for the detection of 'ghost' electors, an official said. The new option would help the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) find out if multiple names are attached to a particular EPIC number, he said. "The chief electoral officers in all states have been informed about this decision," he said. On Monday, a letter was sent to the chief electoral officers of the states informing them about a new module for correcting 'duplicate EPIC numbers', the official said. West Bengal's Acting Chief Electoral Officer Dibyendu Das had on Monday held a virtual meeting with senior officials in the districts and briefed them about the decision, he said. Corrections on the voter list of West Bengal have been ordered to be completed by March 21, he added.

Opposition walks out of Rajya Sahba amid uproar over duplicate voter ID

Opposition parties, including the Congress and the TMC, on Monday walked out of the Rajya Sabha after their demand for a discussion on the Election Commission's alleged lapses in issuing multiple duplicate voter ID cards and delimitation was disallowed. Opposition MPs from the Trinamool Congress, Congress and Left parties gave notices under rule 267 that calls for setting aside business of the day to take up discussion on the issue being raised through them. But Deputy Chairman Harivansh said they could not be accepted as they were not in conformity with the rulings of the chair on such notices. While TMC and Congress MPs sought to raise the duplicate voter ID card issue, Tamil parties wanted to discuss the impact of the ensuing delimitation exercise on southern states. Opposition MPs raised slogans and pressed for a discussion. However, they staged a walkout after Harivansh asserted that their notices have not been accepted and nothing that they said was going on record. As many

Matter related to duplicate voter card numbers a 'legacy issue': EC sources

The poll body had recently clarified that irrespective of the EPIC number, an elector can cast a vote only at their designated polling station

Congress slams EC's response on duplicate voter IDs as 'duplicitous'

The Congress on Friday termed as "duplicitous" the Election Commission's explanation on duplicate voter ID numbers and asked the poll body to come clean on the issue. Amid allegations of a cover-up over duplicate voter identity card numbers, the poll panel earlier in the day said it would address the "decades-long" matter in the next three months. "The Congress party rejects this feeble and duplicitous explanation by the ECI and reiterates its demands to come clean on the sanctity of voter lists in India," the Congress' Empowered Action Group of Leaders and Experts (EAGLE) said in a statement. The group said the Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a duplicitous response on the issue of the same voter IDs being allotted to multiple voters. "The ECI, in its response, hides behind its processes to offer a feeble explanation. Shockingly but not surprisingly, the ECI has been forced to admit that its voter lists are flawed and not trustworthy," it said. The EC, in a letter is

Election Commission has admitted 'guilt' over duplicate EPIC numbers: TMC

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has finally "admitted and accepted" their guilt, said the Trinamool Congress (TMC) as the poll panel issued a second statement over the issue of duplication of voter ID card numbers. "The ECI has finally admitted and accepted their guilt that duplicate EPIC (Electoral Photo Identity Card) numbers have been allotted to multiple people. All of this has happened because (West Bengal) CM Mamata Banerjee nailed the lies of the ECI & exposed this scam," TMC Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale said in a post on X shortly after the poll panel released a statement saying it will address the "decades-long" matter in the next three months. "After being in denial, the ECI now says it will 'fix the issue' in just three months. It has also given a very unconvincing explanation that "this duplication of EPIC has happened since the year 2000 due to registration officers using incorrect alphanumeric series"," he said. Gokhale questioned how an "incorrect series" was

Govt looking into it, facts will come out: Jaishankar on USAID funding row

Amid a row over USAID funding for certain activities in the country, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday said the information put out by Trump administration people is "concerning" and that the government is looking into it. During an interaction at an event here late evening, he also said USAID was allowed in India "in good faith, to do good faith activities", and suggestions are being made out of America that "there are activities which are in bad faith". "So, it surely warrants a look. And, if there is something to it, I think the country should know who are the people involved in the bad faith activities," the external affairs minister said. Jaishankar during the discussion also asserted that "our idea of security actually has to expand in a tech world". Besides, armed forces, civilian police ensuring law enforcement, security is also about "how your thought processes are influenced, how narratives are set, how facts are presented to you, how your mind moulded ..

Trump again slams $21 mn USAID funding for India, calls it kickback scheme

Speaking at the Republican Governors Association meeting in Washington DC, US President Donald Trump questioned the rationale behind the expenditure

Trump's voter turnout claim false: $21 mn funded to Bangladesh, not India

USAID's official records confirm that no projects funded by the Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening have been implemented in India since 2008

Who is Veena Reddy? Ex-USAID India director faces heat over $21 mn funding

The BJP, and the Congress clash over Trump's $21 million voter turnout funding claim; records show the amount was sanctioned for Bangladesh in 2022, not India

Trump claims USAID funding in India was to get 'someone else elected'

Donald Trump's remarks came days after DOGE disclosed that the United States Agency for International Development contributed $21 million to boost 'voter turnout' in India

PM Modi's adviser calls USAID a 'scam', questions funding for India polls

Sanjeev Sanyal has questioned the recipients of the alleged US funds in India. In a post on X, he criticised USAID, demanding transparency regarding the funds allocated to India

Cong alleges Maharashtra govt elected illegitimately, cites voter list data

Opposition Congress on Saturday alleged that the BJP-led Mahayuti government in Maharashtra was "not legitimately elected" and claimed there was a suspicious addition of a large number of voters and manipulation of votes during the November 2024 assembly polls. Congress' data analytics department chairperson Praveen Chakravarty and former Maharashtra chief minister Prithiviraj Chavan made the allegations in a press conference. "The government in Maharashtra is not legitimately elected through a fair electoral process. We say this with full responsibility as India's oldest political party and as the only political party that fought for India's freedom and helped establish India as a constitutional republic," Chakaravarty said. There has been significant manipulation of the voter results in the recently-held state assembly elections in Maharashtra, he said. "Forty-eight lakh new voters were added in the electoral rolls in the assembly elections after the Lok Sabha polls, while only 3

Voter ID alone doesn't ensure voting rights: Delhi chief electoral officer

Delhi's Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls nears completion and the final voter list will be published on January 6, 2025

'Operation Lotus': Kejriwal accuses BJP of manipulating electoral roll

Addressing the media, Arvind Kejriwal accused the BJP of running "Operation Lotus" by deleting voter applications in his assembly constituency, New Delhi

Between falling crop prices and electoral landslide: How Mahayuti prevailed

As farmers in North India, once again threaten another stir in demand of legal MSP, it remains to be seen how the Maharashtra poll results impact their agitation

What is form 17C and the dispute over voter turnout data?

The Election Commission of India has found itself embroiled in a debate over the transparency of voter turnout data during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. On May 24, the Supreme Court refused to dire

Lok Sabha polls & stock market: Is the voter turnout dip worrying D-Street?

Foreign investors wait on the sidelines, seeking clarity on the next government's composition and strength