Karnataka's SIR exercise begins today
What's the story
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Karnataka will start on Tuesday with the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office initiating door-to-door data collection. The CEO's office has printed over 11 crore forms for the state's 5,55,74,064 voters since June 20. Each voter will receive two partially printed customized forms, which they must fill out. Over 5.54 crore electors are set to be covered between June 30 and July 29.
Contact strategy
BLOs, EROs contact details published
To ensure all voters are reached, the CEO's office has published contact numbers of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) on their website. If a voter's house is locked for an extended period, a sticker with BLO contact details will be placed on their door. Election officials have also clarified that enumeration forms will only be given to listed electors or authorized family members.
Form details
Unique QR code on each form
Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V Anbukkumar also said BLOs will contact electors if they are not found at their registered address during the door-to-door visit. Each form will have a unique QR code containing the voter's data. At the time of submission, citizens can present any of the 11 identity proofs recognized by state and central governments.
Colors
2 color-coded stickers will be used
BLOs have been asked to make at least three visits. Two color-coded stickers will be used during the exercise. A violet square sticker will show the enumeration form has been delivered; a red round sticker will be placed on locked houses. The red sticker will provide the date of the next visit and the BLO's phone number. Officials emphasized that no documents will be gathered during the enumeration phase. However, voters must retain the BLO-signed acknowledgment copy of the form.
Checking
BLOs will digitize the collected forms
The BLOs will digitize the collected forms, after which the system will check for discrepancies like mismatches in names, age, gender, absence of corresponding records from last intensive revision in 2002, etc. "Where anomalies are detected, EROs will issue notices after publication of the draft roll. A notice does not mean deletion...It is only a communication seeking clarification or supporting documents," an official said. In such circumstances, BLOs will serve notices and gather responses and documentation for ERO verification.
Mapping update
Mapping 91.56% completed in Karnataka
So far, 91.56% of the mapping has been completed in Karnataka, making it the second highest in India after Odisha. The mapping will continue during door-to-door data collection until draft electoral rolls are published on August 5, 2026. Overall, there are 59,050 BLOs, 6,000 BLO supervisors, and 72,058 Booth Level Agents (BLAs) deployed by registered political parties. Deputy commissioners, municipal commissioners, panchayat heads and other authorized heads have been assigned to ensure SIR is conducted smoothly across the state.
Official assurance
What about ongoing voter registration?
Election officials have assured that the special summary revision exercise will be halted until final electoral rolls are published on October 7, 2026. However, BLOs will carry Form 6 to enroll new electors during this period. Dedicated voter facilitation centers have been set up at ward and panchayat levels to assist electors throughout the process. This is the ninth SIR exercise. The Election Commission is using the 2002 database and 2023 electoral data for this SIR exercise.