India’s complex 2025 voter roll update targets half a billion citizens, battling manual entry, tight deadlines, and controversy – Mix Vale-radardasaude

A monumental effort to revise the world’s largest electoral roll is underway across India, impacting nearly a billion citizens whose data requires stringent verification to ensure their participation in the planet’s biggest democracy. With deadlines looming for major states in late 2024, and extensions granted into early 2025 for populous regions like Uttar Pradesh, tens of thousands of public servants are working tirelessly to manually input and confirm voter information into a comprehensive database. This colossal task is critical for maintaining electoral integrity ahead of upcoming polls, including the general elections scheduled for 2029.

The urgency stems from the outdated nature of the previous electoral list, which dates back to 2003. Authorities emphasize the critical need for an updated register to accurately reflect India’s dynamic demographic shifts and remove inaccuracies. These include the substantial rural-to-urban migration, the presence of deceased voters, and the removal of individuals illegally listed.

Approximately 500 million people across at least 12 states and union territories have been part of this intensive update process since late 2024. The scale of the undertaking requires extraordinary dedication from an army of government employees.

Unprecedented pressure on civil servants

More than half a million public servants have been mobilized for this demanding exercise, facing immense personal and professional strain. Prem Lata, a teacher tasked with verifying voter data, illustrates the grueling reality on the ground. She consistently starts her days at 5 AM, with shifts frequently extending past midnight, all for an additional monthly stipend of roughly 1,000 rupees (approximately $12 USD).

Lata described the environment as one of “much stress and pressure, and little time.” Working from her school, now repurposed as an office outside New Delhi, she lamented the physical toll. “We spend all day doing this, and even until midnight or 1 AM, so of course there is stress, and my body aches. After all, it’s a human body, not a machine.”

Such arduous conditions, combined with the modest compensation, highlight the significant personal sacrifices made by those at the forefront of this democratic process. The sheer volume of data and the tight turnaround demand unwavering commitment.

Byzantine bureaucracy adds to verification woes

The inherent complexities of India’s bureaucratic system further complicate the already strenuous verification process. Since the last major update in 2003, millions of people have relocated hundreds of kilometers in pursuit of new employment opportunities, making address verification a significant hurdle.

Social changes also present challenges, as many women have married and adopted their husbands’ surnames, necessitating careful documentation updates. A substantial portion of the population, particularly the economically disadvantaged, remains unaware of the registration process or lacks the specific 12 government documents required for verification.

These issues collectively contribute to a slow and often frustrating experience for both the verifying officials and the citizens trying to confirm their eligibility. The labyrinthine requirements disproportionately affect vulnerable populations.

Political scrutiny and legal battles

India’s vibrant yet tumultuous political landscape ensures that any changes to the electoral roll draw intense scrutiny, often leading to legal challenges. Allegations of manipulation have emerged from various factions, adding another layer of complexity to the process.

Critics of the ruling nationalist Hindu government have accused it of using the update to disenfranchise minority groups, a claim vehemently denied by the government. Opposition parties have also reported instances where their local councilors were erroneously declared deceased, raising concerns about the integrity of the data.

The pressure on electoral officials is immense, with dozens of lawsuits filed against them for alleged negligence. Disturbingly, parliamentary data indicates more than a dozen cases of suicide among electoral staff, underscoring the severe mental health toll exacted by this high-stakes task. This environment of mistrust and legal challenge further complicates an already difficult administrative operation.

Exhaustive revision process

At a school in Noida, a sprawling extension of New Delhi, Lata and seven other polling station officers are engaged in a relentless effort, constantly on the phone to locate the remaining names on their lists. Meanwhile, students, effectively on an unscheduled holiday, sit outside coloring their notebooks.

Lata’s interactions reflect the race against the clock. “Send me the data on WhatsApp; otherwise, your name will be deleted,” she sternly instructs a non-compliant citizen. “Today is the last day, so don’t ask me later why it was canceled.”

She was assigned 945 voters to verify, completing 600 thus far. The remaining cases present persistent difficulties: some have moved, others have passed away, and some simply cannot be identified. Ruby Verma, another officer, adds that many citizens are not convinced of the need to cooperate. “People say, ‘I am already registered as a voter, so why do I need all this data again?’ They don’t understand the concept of verification,” she explains. “It’s a thankless job.”

Historical context and current challenges

India has undertaken eight national electoral roll revisions since gaining independence in 1947, becoming the world’s largest democracy. The last such comprehensive exercise in 2003, which involved roughly 600 million voters, spanned six months.

This time, officials initially allocated just one month for polling station staff to verify approximately 500 million voters across 12 states and union territories. This ambitious deadline has since been extended twice for most states and four times in Uttar Pradesh, the nation’s most populous state. Officials like Lata struggle to locate some voters, while citizens often face difficulties in gathering the necessary documents. Geeta Rana, 40, exemplifies this challenge; since the last update, she moved back home and adopted her husband’s surname. Her parents have also passed away, and she lacks information about their previous electoral district—a crucial detail for her own verification. “My daughter is 19, so she is registering to vote this year,” Rana explained. “But her vote would be linked to mine, and if mine is not verified, not only will my vote be lost, so will hers.” This scenario is common at Lata’s school, particularly among migrant workers from other states who find it challenging to procure parental documents and information.

Millions of names removed and government’s defense

Government critics maintain that the ongoing verification process is being utilized to remove supporters of opposition parties from the electoral rolls. In West Bengal, for example, preliminary lists published in December 2024 indicated over 5.8 million deletions. Nearly half of these names were attributed to deceased individuals, although the All India Trinamool Congress, a major opponent of the current government, claims at least one of its councilors was incorrectly listed as deceased.

Similar patterns of significant name removals have been observed in preliminary lists from states such as Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat. Opposition parties and activists have also highlighted that the documents requested by authorities—often proof of citizenship rather than voter IDs—raise concerns about potential disenfranchisement of specific groups.

Home Minister Amit Shah has vigorously defended the process, stating in Parliament that the electoral roll review is “nothing more than a verification of legitimate voters.” He questioned, “Should a person be able to vote in more than one place? Should those who have already passed away be included in the electoral list?” These statements underscore the government’s stance on the necessity of the verification.

The unending task

In Uttar Pradesh, Lata’s home state, multiple police complaints have been filed against workers tasked with updating the voter lists, citing alleged violations of “official duty.” This adds another layer of anxiety for employees like Lata. “I have worked as a teacher for two decades, so the idea of losing my job after all these years is scary,” she shared. “But we are trying our best to complete this task because we also don’t want people to lose their right to vote.”

As stress levels mount and deadlines approach, Lata and her colleagues find brief moments of levity. They often encounter amusing difficulties, such as two neighbors both named Suraj Chauhan with similarly named parents, or eight different people in eight different neighborhoods sharing the same father’s name.

“It feels like it will never end,” Lata said, highlighting the relentless nature of the work. “It’s incessant work, and we still haven’t been able to register all voters, so if they extend the deadline, it would be great – otherwise, we’ll have to submit what we already have.” While dates for other Indian states to undergo this process are yet to be set, authorities aim to complete the entire national verification by the general elections in 2029. Even after this phase concludes, Lata’s work continues. “As soon as this is done, we will have to start registering new voters,” she explained. “And then the elections will arrive, and of course, we will have to return to the work we are paid for: teaching children.”