Bhubaneswar, July 22 (UDN): The Odisha State Election Commission (SEC) has announced a comprehensive revision of electoral rolls ahead of the upcoming Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) and Urban Local Body (ULB) elections, with a statewide door-to-door voter verification drive scheduled from October 26 to November 7.
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The exercise is aimed at preparing an accurate and updated voter list before the local body elections, which are expected to be held in April-May next year.
Household Survey to Verify Voter Details
The decision was taken during a review meeting chaired by the State Election Commissioner with district collectors and election officials.
As per the schedule, district-level survey teams will be constituted by July 31 to undertake physical verification of voters through household visits across the state.
The Commission plans to publish the final electoral roll on February 10, following completion of the verification and revision process.
Physical Verification to Improve Accuracy
SEC Secretary Santosh Kumar Das said the Commission has decided to conduct a field survey instead of relying solely on the electoral rolls prepared by the Election Commission of India.
According to him, the previous practice of splitting existing electoral rolls had led to inaccuracies and legal disputes. The physical verification exercise is expected to eliminate errors and improve the credibility of the voter database.
Software to Remove Duplicate Entries
To further enhance the quality of electoral rolls, the SEC will deploy a dedicated de-duplication software capable of identifying and removing duplicate voter registrations across rural and urban constituencies.
Officials said the digital tool will help ensure that each eligible voter is registered only once.
Nomination Process to Go Digital
As part of broader electoral reforms, the Commission is also introducing a fully digitised nomination process for Panchayat and municipal elections.
The online system will facilitate real-time monitoring of nominations, withdrawals and the publication of the final list of valid candidates, improving transparency and administrative efficiency.
In addition, standard inspection formats will be issued to District Collectors and Block Development Officers (BDOs) for assessing polling stations, strong rooms and counting centres well before the elections.
Preparations Underway for Polls
The SEC has also reviewed the availability of polling infrastructure. Odisha currently has around 8,000 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), while more than 12,000 are expected to be required for the upcoming elections. Steps are being taken to procure additional machines, while damaged ballot boxes are being repaired and new ones will be purchased wherever necessary.
Officials said the election notification is likely to be issued after the completion of the national Census exercise, scheduled to conclude in the first week of March, paving the way for local body elections in April or May.
The voter verification drive marks one of the key preparatory exercises by the State Election Commission to ensure free, fair and error-free elections across Odisha.