DUPLICATE VOTER ID NUMBERS

• GS-2: Governance (Electoral Reforms, Election Commission’s Role)
• GS-3: Technology in Governance (Voter ID Digitization, Data Management)

Key Highlights

Election Commission’s Plan to Resolve Duplicate Voter IDs:

• Election Commission (EC) acknowledged the issue of duplicate EPIC (Voter ID) numbers.
• EC committed to resolving the issue within 3 months by ensuring a unique national EPIC number for all voters.
• Issue arose due to mismanagement of electoral databases at the State/UT level.

Political Reactions & Criticism:

• Trinamool Congress accused the EC of manipulating voter lists and failing in its duty for decades.
• Mamata Banerjee alleged BJP benefited from EC’s errors in electoral databases.
• Congress also criticized EC, recalling that in 2008, EC had claimed that “voter IDs are unique”, dismissing concerns raised earlier.

Resolution Mechanism & Appeals Process:

• Voters can appeal to District Magistrate/Collector under Section 24(A) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 if their voter ID is duplicated.
• A second appeal can be made to the Chief Electoral Officer of the State/UT.

Analysis & Way Forward

• Ensuring unique voter IDs is crucial for free and fair elections.
• Implementing a national voter database with AI-driven de-duplication can prevent future discrepancies.
• Greater accountability and transparency in EC’s electoral roll management is needed.

Mains Mock Question:

“What are the challenges in ensuring a foolproof voter identification system in India? Suggest technological and policy measures to strengthen electoral integrity.”