New Delhi: Calling it an “opportunity” for voters, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday (November 6), decided to repeat a significant part of its enumeration exercise during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in seven states. For voters marked Absent, Shifted, Deceased or Duplicate (ASDD), whose filled-in enumeration forms were not received by it, the commission has said it will once again display their names and the “probable” reasons why they were not included on the voter lists.This means these voters can check their entries and return to the voter list, following a simple-sounding process. However, it does not mean guaranteed or automatic return for these voters, as the applications would be verified by field staff and cleared by the Electors Registration Officers.The commission has also said that voters can use their existing voter IDs rather than necessarily having to register as first-time voters.The ECI has laid out the process for ASDD voters in a 3-page note sent to Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) in Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana and Nagaland.The note says that it has “decided that electors who were issued enumeration forms but whose names could not be included in the draft electoral roll on account of being marked as ASDD shall be provided one more opportunity…”One of the primary reasons why the number of those excluded from voter lists has swelled during the SIR is that they were marked ASDD.The other aspect of the ECI’s note to CEOs is how it has approached the use of Form 6 (meant for new voters to register for the first time) versus Form 8, which is meant for voters who have shifted residence.Also read: Delhi SIR: Petitioners Say ECI’s Advice Asking Deleted Voters to Fill Form 6 Contradicts SC’s Form 8 ObservationSo far, when the ECI was confronted with mass deletion of voters due to being marked ASDD incorrectly or the inability of election staff to use its software (ERONET) to reinstate such voters, it insisted that voters use Form 6 to return to the rolls, whether or not they had voted before.This position appears to have changed with the ECI now telling CEOs in the handful of states it has addressed in Friday’s note that voters who have shifted residence within the same state can use an enumeration form – not Form 6 – if they are existing voters who have EPIC numbers.Voters who have already submitted Form 6 for fresh enrolment during SIR need not submit another Enumeration Form.Further, it has said that the EPICs that voters already have can be used by them to try to return to the voter lists in these states.Transparency activists Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri, who have moved the Supreme Court against mass exclusions during the Delhi SIR – which were also largely due to the ASDD categories – issued a detailed statement on X on Friday night on the issue.“We welcome this communication issued by the ECI,” Bhardwaj and Johri wrote. “We believe this is an important step in addressing large scale exclusions caused during SIR,” the activists said in a co-signed note.“Just in Delhi, out of 47.56 lakh deleted in the first phase and put on ASDD, 31.59 lakh were marked as permanently shifted and 11.73 as absent/untraceable,” they pointed out.They wrote that the top court had, during an October 28 hearing, questioned the ECI’s bid to get voters who had been incorrectly left out to fill in Form 6.Also read: Don’t Have to Make False Form 6 Declarations During SIR, Says Goa Bench of Bombay HCBhardwaj and Johri also referred to the ECI’s note referring to how old (or existing) EPIC numbers can be used by voters as “important”, since it would preserve a voter’s “historical record of being an existing voter”.They also laid out an explanation of what Friday’s communication by the ECI implies:Shifted voters: Voters who were marked ASDD as they had shifted residence can fill an enumeration form and submit a statement that details their new address. In case of homeless persons, field verification by BLO will suffice. Voters who missed the deadline: Voters who could not submit their enumeration form within the deadline and have been placed on the ASDD list can submit their enumeration form now, along with a statement on why they were unable to do so earlier. Old EPIC cards are valid: All those on the ASDD list who will now fill an enumeration form along with the applicable statement will be reassigned their old EPIC number. All such cases will be parked for inclusion in final voter list following due verification. For our full coverage on the SIR and the issues it has brought to citizens, click here.