Election Commission Separates Form 6 and Declaration for States Under SIR

The Election Commission of India has separated Form 6, the form used for fresh voter registration, from an accompanying declaration in its online version for states where the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is currently underway.

Earlier in September the Commission had already withdrawn the declaration from its digital platforms in states where the SIR exercise had been completed. The latest change extends the separation to states still conducting the revision. The move simplifies the online process for new applicants while the intensive verification of existing rolls continues.

Special Intensive Revision involves house-to-house verification, deletion of ineligible names and addition of new voters. It is a periodic exercise designed to clean electoral rolls ahead of major elections. Several states are conducting SIR at present. The separation of the declaration from Form 6 reduces the steps required for a first-time applicant while the broader verification proceeds.

Form 6 is the standard application for inclusion in the electoral roll. The accompanying declaration had required applicants to affirm certain facts about their eligibility. By separating the two documents online, the Commission has made the digital submission path shorter in active SIR states. The physical process and the verification standards remain unchanged.

The change follows feedback from state election officers about the volume of online applications during the revision period. Applicants who use the online portal no longer encounter the combined form-and-declaration screen in those states. The Commission has not altered the underlying eligibility criteria.

Electoral rolls are the foundation for both assembly and parliamentary elections. Errors in the rolls, whether inclusions of ineligible voters or exclusions of eligible ones, affect the integrity of the process. SIR is the Commission's principal tool for addressing those errors between major elections. The procedural adjustment to Form 6 is a technical change within that larger exercise.

States not currently under SIR continue to use the previous combined online format. The Commission has indicated that further adjustments will be made as additional states complete their revisions. No timeline has been given for a uniform national online process.

The announcement appeared in the Election Commission's routine communications on November 5. It does not affect the schedule of any ongoing election or the status of rolls already published. It is an administrative refinement of the online registration pathway during an active revision cycle.