Punjab BLOs told to check voter lists for ‘absurd’ errors

Patiala: Punjab chief electoral officer has issued directives to booth-level officers (BLOs) to carry out a thorough "purification" of electoral rolls, focusing on immediate removal of non-human images, blurred photographs, and "absurd" or "illogical" data entries that previously led to public controversies.The CEO directed BLOs to identify and replace "non-human" or inappropriate images, including any photo not belonging to the actual voter, after reports of "non-human" images and viral claims of pets like dogs and cats appearing in voter lists during previous revisions in states like Bihar. As part of pre-SIR exercise, BLOs were also instructed to address technical glitches such as blurry, black-and-white, or missing photographs, and correct logic errors, including discrepancies in age-gender ratios, illogical addresses, or "gibberish" text in name fields.It has been mandated that any changes to the voter list must be backed by physical verification. Voters requiring an image update or correction of particulars such as name, age and address must fill out Form 8. In cases where a vote needs to be deleted due to death, permanent shifting, or duplication, BLOs are required to process Form 7 after verifying the facts on the ground.In Nabha and Sangrur, BLOs have already begun door-to-door visits to capture fresh photographs and verify documents. "The goal is to ensure a 100% error-free electoral roll before the upcoming electoral cycles," said a district official.This heightened vigilance stemmed from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) conducted in Bihar in 2025. That exercise, involving a massive overhaul of the 2003-base lists, faced intense scrutiny over the large-scale deletion of "untraceable" electors and viral social media posts showing absurd entries. By issuing these pre-emptive instructions, the ECI aimed to maintain institutional credibility and prevent "demographic manipulation" or "algorithmic errors" from affecting the final rolls.