New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has reportedly reactivated a de-duplication software midway through voter roll revisions in 12 states, weeks after informing the Supreme Court that the technology was defective.An investigation by The Reporters’ Collective indicates that the EC deployed the software without the rigorous ground verification process outlined in its manual. The move comes despite an affidavit submitted to the apex court on November 24, where the ECI stated that the algorithmic system yielded variable results and was “last used in 2023.”The report alleges that the software, designed to identify duplicate voter entries, was switched on merely eight days after the ECI’s submission to the court. This reactivation occurred during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls.Procedural concernsAccording to the investigation, the software was introduced without written instructions, standard operating procedures (SOPs), or manuals for district officials.While the ECI manual previously mandated a “quasi-judicial” hearing and field verification before deleting duplicate entries, the new process reportedly bypasses these safeguards. Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have allegedly been granted discretion to resolve “demographically similar entries” without codified protocols.“We are applying common sense and logic to resolve these errors,” a District Election Officer (DEO) stated, speaking on condition of anonymity.Another district official noted: “Each day, our BLO app was populated with new tech protocols and lists. It showed ECI had no clear plan while running these algorithmic checks.”Second algorithm deployedThe investigation found that a second software was also introduced to “map” voters against the 2002-2004 voter lists. This system flags “logical discrepancies,” such as age gaps between voters and their relatives.Voters unable to trace their lineage to the decades-old list are marked as “unmapped.” The ongoing SIR has reportedly resulted in 86.46 lakh people being marked “unmapped” and 3.7 crore names being removed from draft voter lists in 11 States. The draft list for Uttar Pradesh is scheduled for publication on December 31.Contradictory stancesChief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar had previously emphasised the necessity of due process. On August 17, Kumar stated: “We cannot simply strike a name off based on a claim; it requires field verification by the BLO and a legal window for the voter to respond.”However, the report claims that the reactivation of the software has short-circuited Rule 21-A of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, which mandates a 15-day notice period for voters to respond to potential deletions.In Uttar Pradesh, officials reportedly began receiving lists of voters with “logical discrepancies” between December 18 and 20, leaving minimal time for verification before the initial draft publication deadline.The ECI did not respond to queries regarding the written instructions for these software applications.