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The need for the Election Commission of India (ECI) to order a completely fresh enumeration for the general revision of existing electoral rolls in 2002, were problematic.

Making changes to the existing roll itself was found to create many problems.  It gave enumerators a single enumeration form for every household on which ‘existing correct entries’, ‘names to be added’ and ‘names to be deleted’ were to be recorded under three different columns. One outcome of the 2002 revision was that many existing voters’ names were completely left out.

People complained that the enumerator had stated that there was ‘no need to record the names already existing on the old roll again on the fresh enumeration form’. She had instead recorded the ‘names to be added’ under the column for ‘existing correct entries’. The seeds of the subsequent confusion in the rolls and woes of the voters of 2004 were thus sown in 2002 by such ill-trained and inept enumerators.

When the rolls were published many voters found that their names were incorrectly recorded. And trying to identify each name on the electoral roll would be more like solving a riddle.

The complacency of voters, who sleep for five years and then suddenly wake up on election day and run from booth to booth hunting for their names and then blame the ‘system’ for their missing names is also a factor. No doubt, the ‘system’ has time and again made it difficult for people to vote, but that is however all the more reason for voters to be vigilant about protecting their sacred right. Voters never bother to verify whether their names are there when the rolls are kept in the polling booths for scrutiny after the revision.

“I have a voter’s ID card, hence I can definitely vote,” is a myth voters subscribe to.

“I voted in the last general elections, so my name is bound to be there,” is one of the most common delusions under which the voters suffer. No political party takes up the task of educating voters that, once a general revision of the electoral roll takes place once in five years - the last took place in 2002 - there is no guarantee that a name which used to be there earlier will continue to be there.

“I have a voter’s ID card, hence I can definitely vote,” is the second myth voters subscribe to. Many voters do not know that an ID card issued before the general revision of the electoral roll is of no use, if the name does not exist in the current list. 

NGO participation/partnerships are needed: Though there is so much talk of citizens’ and NGO participation in government functioning, but residents’ associations (RAs) are not involved by municipalities in preparing proper electoral rolls. This should be changed.

Transparency of the rolls is important: A free, ward-wise electoral roll must be made available to residents’ associations wishing to help.

Initiatives tom improve registrations: Faced with similar and massive inaccuracies in the electoral rolls in rural Rajasthan, the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghatan (MKSS) of Rajasthan in December 2003 had open street meetings supported by the Election Commission, where the electoral rolls were publicly read out and the people themselves suggested which names should be retained, deleted or included.

There are Election Commission directives that enable the public verification of voter rolls in theory. But Commission functionaries all over the country will have to work with the municipal authorities and the public if voter registration is to be effective.

Student group/first time voters engaged in voter registration: A student group of Delhi University - United Students - started a voter registration drive on the North Campus on Thursday. Students who have turned 18 but do not have a voter ID card yet will be targeted during the drive.

Several groups of United Students went round the North Campus making students aware about the need to have a voter ID card. The students will also be provided Form No. 6, as prescribed by the Election Commission, to apply for the card and then submit it along with their identity and residence proofs. The group members would then segregate the applications as per constituencies and deposit the applications in the offices concerned. The students are supposed to follow it up after that.

There were about 40,000 new entrants to the University and the entire chunk was the target of the drive.

United Students is also planning to campaign for temporary voting rights for the outstation students at Delhi University who were staying in hostels or paying guest accommodations.

According to the organisers "They are residents of Delhi for the term of their college and, as such, must be given the right to exercise their franchise in the municipal, State and General Elections. They also face problems as they do not have permanent residence status here," They are also trying to ensure that students having local guardians are provided this facility as well".

To attract more and more students towards the drive, United Students are using ice-cream carts, dubbed "Voter ID Cart", to go round various colleges of the University and hand over Form 6 to students.

See also legal reguirements to register as a voter in India