What is the point of publishing draft electoral rolls if voters are unable to search the millions of entries for their names and file objections, if necessary? This is the question electoral roll analyst and activist P.G. Bhat has been asking since 2013.
But to his frustration, the Election Commission in the State has once again published the draft electoral rolls in a non-searchable PDF image format, instead of PDF Text format.
Mr. Bhat, along with a host of other citizen activists, including H.S. Doreswamy and N.S. Mukunda, under the banner of United Bengaluru, Nagarika – Citizen Watch Committee, submitted a memorandum to the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka, asking that the draft rules be published in a searchable text format.
The draft electoral roll, which is important in the run-up to the Assembly polls in April-May 2018, was published by the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, on its website on November 3. The English version was uploaded on Saturday.
Voters are expected to check for their names in the list and submit objections, rectifications, exclusions and inclusions for which the EC is yet to announce a time table. The electoral office will then publish the final list.
“Rule 11.2.2.2 of the Manual on Electoral Rolls issued by the Election Commission of India provides for the manner in which such publication of draft rolls must be made in a PDF format in text mode. Thus, the draft rolls published in the State is in violation of the EC manual,” read the the memorandum submitted by activists.
In Bengaluru alone, 600 new parts (polling booths) have been formed this time, which only means, your vote may have been shifted to a new booth, requiring a voter to search through voluminous data entries, which is disabled by the EC's move, prejudicing the interests of the voters, Mr. Bhat said.
The leadership of the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka was recently changed. Sanjiv Kumar is now the Chief Electoral Officer of the State. The Joint CEO, also a new appointee, told the delegation that they would look into the issue and correct it if needed. The Hindu was unable to reach Mr. Kumar despite repeated attempts.
Not the first time
This is not the first time that electoral rolls have been published as PDF image files with Captcha protection.
Though draft rolls in the run-up to the previous Assembly polls in 2013 were first published in PDF text format, it was changed to image format mid-way. Following several petitions by citizens, it was reverted to PDF text files without Captcha, recalled P.G. Bhat, electoral roll analyst and civic activist.
“Again from March 2013 to January 2017, all rolls were published in PDF text format without Captcha. But suddenly, the rolls have again been published in image format, giving rise to suspicions whether it is deliberate,” he said.
