New Delhi: The “entire election machinery” aided by volunteers is working to ensure that Bihar’s voters are able to obtain official documents – which they will presumably need to prove their eligibility for inclusion in the state’s revised voter rolls – the Election Commission (EC) said.In a press note listing the ‘key findings’ of the enumeration stage of its special intensive revision (SIR) of Bihar’s voter rolls and the ‘aims’ of the entire process, the EC on Sunday (July 27) also said that its officials were prepared for the upcoming claims and objections phase and that no elector will be taken off the list without a notice and speaking order.The commission’s communique came a day before the Supreme Court is scheduled to resume hearing petitions challenging the SIR.One of its ‘aims’ during the SIR, the EC said in its press note, is to make sure that electors, especially the elderly, disabled and otherwise vulnerable among them, are able to obtain the necessary official documents.“Entire election machinery and volunteers are making special efforts to assist any elector, especially senior citizens, PwD [persons with disabilities] electors and other vulnerable groups, in obtaining their documents. Volunteers will connect with all electors so that their documents can be obtained from government departments with minimum efforts of the elector,” the poll body said.Many electors are required to prove the details of their and/or their parents’ birth for inclusion in the revised voter roll, which they can do by submitting one of 11 documents listed by the EC.When the SIR began the commission said it would collect these documents from voters along with their enumeration forms in the SIR’s first stage, but it has since appeared to revise its stance, saying it will accept them even during the claims and objections stage, which is scheduled to begin with the publication of the draft roll on August 1.For this next stage, one electoral registration officer (ERO) in each of Bihar’s 243 assembly constituencies and a total of 2,976 assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) are “already in position to scrutinise and decide on any claims and objections”, the EC said.It added that “no name can be deleted from the draft list” to be published on August 1 without a notice and speaking order issued by an ERO or AERO.Electors can file appeals against the ERO or AERO’s decision to exclude them from the voter roll and a standard format for doing so “is being devised”, said the EC.Volunteers are also being trained to help people file appeals, it said.Under the first, ‘enumeration’ phase of the SIR, the EC has identified some 22 lakh people for deletion from the voter rolls on account of their being deceased, and 36 lakh more people who have moved away permanently or could not be traced.Genuine electors “can still be added back in electoral rolls” during the claims and objections period that will begin on August 1 and end exactly one month later, the EC said on Sunday.Another seven lakh people were found to have been registered at more than one place.During its hearing of petitions challenging the SIR on July 10, the Supreme Court had suggested to the EC that it consider the commonly kept Aadhaar, ration and voter cards as proof for inclusion in the revised voter roll.However, the EC has since then declined to include these documents as valid proof.