Panaji, December 2, 2025 – In a significant cleanup of the electoral rolls ahead of upcoming polls, Goa's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has identified approximately 90,000 voters as absent, shifted, deceased, or holding duplicate entries, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sanjay Goel announced on Sunday. These names will be excluded from the draft electoral roll, set to be published on December 9, as part of the Election Commission's nationwide drive to ensure accurate voter lists.
The SIR, which began enumeration on November 4, involved Booth Level Officers (BLOs) distributing and collecting forms from over 11.85 lakh registered voters across the state. So far, 96.5% of the forms—totaling around 11.45 lakh—have been collected and digitized, with about 40,000 still pending submission by the December 4 deadline. BLOs conducted multiple visits to households to verify details, marking entries for deletion only after confirming the voter's untraceability or ineligibility.
"During the enumeration phase, when forms were distributed and booth-level officers went to their houses, they found that these 90,000 voters were either not traceable, or had shifted to another location or died, or they were informed that they had voted elsewhere," Goel explained. A detailed list of the affected voters will be uploaded on the CEO's website and displayed at major public offices, allowing individuals to file objections via Form 6 if they believe they've been erroneously excluded.
In addition to deletions, the revision flagged another major issue: around 2.2 lakh voters whose names (or their parents') could not be traced back to the 2002 SIR records. These voters will provisionally appear in the draft roll but must submit proof of citizenship—such as extracts from previous rolls or 13 designated documents—during summary hearings before Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). "Ultimately, the ERO has to be satisfied that the voter is a genuine voter of Goa," Goel emphasized, noting that officers have been instructed to exercise careful judgment.
The process also uncovered 1,787 cases of duplicate registrations within the state, with Goel warning that maintaining voter entries in multiple constituencies is a criminal offense punishable by up to one year in prison. Special attention was drawn to voters who may have acquired foreign citizenship, such as Portuguese passports, rendering them ineligible under Indian law. "If someone has acquired a Portuguese passport, he/she ceases to be a citizen of India and is not supposed to be in the list. But this is based on self-declaration," the CEO clarified, adding that false declarations could lead to prosecution.
The SIR is being conducted simultaneously in nine states and three Union Territories, but its outcomes in Goa will not impact the Zilla Panchayat elections scheduled for December 20, where current roll holders can still vote. Claims and objections against the draft roll can be filed from December 9 until February 7, 2026, with the final roll expected by early next year.
Goel appealed to the remaining voters to submit their forms promptly, stating, "There have been no complaints. Apart from a minor complaint regarding a BLO, everything has been sorted out." The exercise, the first major revision since 2002, aims to bolster the integrity of Goa's electoral process amid growing concerns over bogus voting and demographic shifts.
As the draft publication approaches, civil society groups have urged transparency, though no major political backlash has emerged yet. The revisions underscore the Election Commission's push for cleaner rolls, potentially reshaping voter demographics in this coastal state known for its tight electoral margins.
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