Context: Recently, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has released a statement that an elector can only vote at the polling booth mentioned in his EPIC (Electors Photo Identify Card).
ECI has taken cognizance of certain social media posts and media reports flagging the issue of electors of two different states having identical EPIC numbers.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key Facts about EPIC (Electors Photo Identify Card); ERONET platform.
What is EPIC (Electors Photo Identify Card)?
- The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 provides for an EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) to be issued to all electors in order to prevent impersonation.
- Registered voters began to be issued EPICs by state governments from 1993 onwards.
- An EPIC contains:
- Elector’s name
- Age
- Residence
- Photograph of the elector
- Facsimile signature of the registration officer
- Other particulars specified by ECI.
- EPIC is an identity document, it does not give the holder the right to vote. The right to vote is only available to those whose names are in the electoral roll of their respective constituencies.
EPIC and EC’s Manual on Electoral Rolls, 2023
- As per the EC’s Manual on Electoral Rolls, 2023:
- Every EPIC is issued under a unique EPIC Number — an alphanumeric series with three alphabetical codes followed by a seven-digit number.
- This number is provided by the ECI, and includes a Functional Unique Serial Number (FUSN) for each Assembly constituency.
- Since 2017, the EPICs are being made using the ERONET portal.
- The manual says EPICs can only be made online.
- A unique EPIC Number is allotted to every elector, whenever EPIC is issued to an elector for the first time.
- In case of a replacement EPIC, the number would remain the same as the original.
Clarification given by the Election Commission of India:
- The same EPIC numberdoes not imply duplicate or fake voters.
- EPIC numbers of some of the electors may be identical, but other details including their demographic details, Assembly Constituency and polling booth are different for the electors with the same EPIC number.
- Irrespective of the EPIC number, any elector can cast a vote only at their designated polling station in their respective Constituency in their State/UT, where they are enrolled in the electoral roll and nowhere else.
Allotment of identical EPIC number/series (The Controversy):
- As per ECI, the allotment of identical EPIC number/series to some electors from different States/UTs was due to a decentralised and manual mechanism being followed prior to shifting of the electoral roll database of all States/UTs to the ERONET platform.
- This resulted in certain State/UT CEO offices using the same EPIC alphanumeric series.
- This left a scope for duplicate EPIC numbers being allotted to electors in different Assembly Constituencies in different States/UTs.
- ECI has decided to ensure allotment of a unique EPIC number to registered electors.
- Any case of duplicate EPIC number will be rectified by allotting a unique EPIC number.
- The ERONET 2.0 platform will be updated to aid and assist in this process.
ERONET Platform
- ERONET is a web based application used for elector registration issues to handle all processes pertaining to registration, migration, and deletion of names from the electoral roll.
- ERONET automates the process of electoral roll management and helps in removal of duplicate entries and inclusion of migrated electors.
- Representation of the People Act, 1950 mainly deals with the preparation and revision of the electoral rolls.
- Publishing of electoral rolls is a key process that happens before the elections and is vital for the conduct of elections in India.