ECI App Flaw Blocks Voter Enrolment for Applicants Without Aadhaar

Voters seeking inclusion in the electoral roll without an Aadhaar card face exclusion in Karnataka because the Election Commission of India's Booth Level Officer (BLO) App has not enabled the option to register applicants without Aadhaar details, despite official rules stating the document is not mandatory.

Under official ECI guidelines, applicants submitting Form-6 can select Option E to state that they do not possess an Aadhaar number. However, the BLO app requires an 'E-sign' process that generates a one-time password (OTP) sent exclusively to an Aadhaar-linked mobile number. BLOs reported that this requirement prevents them from digitising and processing applications submitted by non-Aadhaar holders.

BLOs pointed out that the issue particularly impacts residents living in slum settlements and other citizens who lack basic identity documents. Even when applicants submit paper forms, BLOs are unable to accept or digitise them because the app mandates OTP authentication through an Aadhaar-linked mobile number, cutting off enrolment before forms can be evaluated.

The app's limitation also undermines ECI provisions created for vulnerable individuals, such as homeless persons without proof of residence. In those situations, guidelines direct BLOs to visit the applicant's stated location at night on multiple occasions to verify where they sleep. While the guidelines account for these circumstances, the app provides no corresponding way to register such applicants without Aadhaar.

An Assistant Electoral Registration Officer confirmed that the issue was flagged during recent training sessions. However, officials from the Chief Electoral Officer's office dismissed the concern, stating that everybody holds an Aadhaar card.

Enrolment is further complicated by a declaration form introduced during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The declaration requires applicants to furnish details establishing that their parents or grandparents appeared on the 2002 electoral rolls. BLOs stated that they cannot accept or process Form-6 applications that lack these ancestral mapping details.

The hurdles arise after Karnataka excluded more than 1.07 crore names from draft electoral rolls during revision, with many marked as shifted or absent. While those eligible individuals now seek re-enrolment through Form-6, the Aadhaar requirement on the BLO app remains a significant barrier to their return to the rolls.