Bhubaneswar: The Election Commission has published draft electoral rolls, resulting in the removal of names of more than 20 lakh individuals from the voter registry in Odisha. R S Gopalan, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Odisha, reported that when the electoral roll was frozen on May 20, the state had 3.33 crore voters.

After the enumeration phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which took place from May 30 to June 28, the updated voter count stands at 3.13 crore. This includes 1.60 crore male voters, 1.53 crore female voters, and 2,775 voters identifying as third gender.

Among the 20 lakh individuals removed from the list, 8.32 lakh had passed away, while 10.07 lakh had either relocated or were absent during the enumeration process. Additionally, 1.58 lakh names were found to be registered in multiple locations, according to Gopalan. Furthermore, approximately 14,000 voters failed to return their enumeration forms to the booth-level officers (BLOs).

Gopalan informed the media at a press conference that those whose names do not appear in the draft electoral roll have the option to submit claims or objections through the BLO or via the ECINET mobile application, or by visiting voters.eci.gov.in. The window for submitting claims and objections will remain open until August 4, with the final electoral roll set to be published on September 6.

He added that individuals missing from the draft voter list must complete a form and provide a declaration along with supporting documents to the election authorities. From July 5 to August 4, claims and objections will be collected, and a team of 147 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) along with 994 assistant EROs will review these cases by September 2. If necessary, additional officers will be appointed to ensure timely processing of claims and objections as stipulated.