Following Bihar, voter lists will be updated in 12 states and union territories. The Election Commission announced on Monday that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in these states will begin tomorrow, October 28th, and conclude on February 7th.

The voter list update will take place over a 103-day process. New voters will be added and errors in the voter list will be corrected. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced on Monday that the voter lists in these 12 states and union territories will be frozen starting tonight.

Notably, SIR will be implemented in Bengal, which will go to polls next year, but not in Assam. The Election Commission stated that the citizenship rules in Assam are slightly different, so the process will be conducted differently there.

See below for a list of 12 states where SIR will be conducted.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Chhattisgarh
Goa
Gujarat
Kerala
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh
Puducherry
Rajasthan
Tamil Nadu
Uttar Pradesh
West Bengal
Learn about the SIR process in 7 questions and answers.

1. What is SIR?

It is a process implemented by the Election Commission. It updates the voter list. New voters over 18 years of age are added, and the names of those who have died and those who have moved are removed. Errors in names and addresses are also corrected. Voter List Officers (BLOs) go door-to-door to collect the forms themselves.

2. In which state did it happen first?

The first phase of the SIR took place in Bihar. The final list includes 7.42 crore voters. These voters will cast their votes in the assembly elections to be held on November 6th and 11th.

3. Who will do it?
There are approximately 510 million voters in the 12 states with SIR. Political parties will deploy 5.33 lakh BLOs and over 700,000 BLAs for this work.

4. When will the assembly elections be held in states with SIR?

During SIR, BLOs/BLAs will give voters forms. Voters must verify their information. If a name appears on the voter list in two places, it must be deleted from one. If a name is not on the voter list, a form must be filled out and relevant documents must be provided.

6. What documents are valid for SIR?

Pensioner Identity Card
Identity Card issued by a government department
Birth Certificate
Passport
10th Class Marksheet
Permanent Residence Certificate
Forest Rights Certificate
Caste Certificate
Name in the National Register (NRC)
Name in the Family Register
Land or House Allotment Letter
Aadhaar Card
7. What is the purpose of SIR?

SIR has been completed from 1951 to 2004, but it has been pending for the last 21 years. During this long period, many changes have been necessary in the voter list, such as migration of people, names appearing in two places on the voter list, names remaining even after death, and names of foreign citizens being included in the list. No eligible voter should be left out of the list, and no ineligible voter should be included in the list.