ASDDO Voter Entries Spike Across 85 Karnataka Constituencies After Digitisation

At least 85 Assembly constituencies across Karnataka, including districts such as Bengaluru Urban, Mysuru, and Chamarajanagar, reported an increase in voters categorized under Absent, Shifted, Duplicate, Dead or Others (ASDDO) between Friday and Sunday. The unexpected surge has raised concerns regarding voter roll updates following official declarations that 100 percent of enumeration forms had been digitised.

The initial ASDDO list was published on August 4, allowing citizens who were incorrectly flagged to check their status and request corrections through local Booth Level Officers (BLOs). However, subsequent comparison of election data revealed that entries under various ASDDO categories continued to rise across several districts despite the complete digitisation of forms.

In Mysuru district, all 11 Assembly constituencies recorded a spike under the duplicate or already enrolled category, while eight constituencies logged an increase in voters listed as deceased. Across Mysuru district, entries for voters marked as dead increased by at least 98, while duplicate voter entries rose by 175 within a two-day period.

A similar pattern was recorded in Chamarajanagar district, where all four Assembly constituencies registered increases in both the dead and duplicate categories. Three of those constituencies—Hanur, Kollegal, and Chamarajanagar—also saw a rise in voters listed as shifted and absent. Districts such as Koppal, Raichur, Vijayapura, and Bengaluru Urban experienced similar surges across multiple ASDDO categories.

Several voters stated that after pointing out errors to BLOs, their names were moved to different ASDDO categories rather than removed from the list. Other voters reported that officials collected their updated details but did not update the changes on the portal.

BLOs noted that voters who could not be located during initial visits were marked as absent, with forms provided later when voters made contact. However, electoral rules dictate that voters who completed and returned enumeration forms should not be added to the ASDDO list.

Officials from the Chief Electoral Officer's office explained that post-digitisation increases could occur when political parties flag voters as shifted or deceased after receiving initial lists. Officials added that reclassification errors between categories, such as marking a duplicate voter as deceased, could also lead to category-specific increases.