Quick take: During a Special Intensive Revision (SIR), electoral rolls are checked through an enumeration process designed to identify eligible electors and remove entries that cannot be verified. In Delhi's 2026 exercise, electors whose enumeration forms could not be collected were placed in categories described as Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO).
These labels describe the status recorded during the revision process. They should not automatically be read as a final finding that a person is dead, has permanently moved, or is ineligible.
The important part for a voter is simple:
Check the draft roll. If your name is missing, use the applicable claims/inclusion process before the deadline.
What is SIR actually trying to do?
The Election Commission describes the objective of SIR as ensuring that eligible citizens are not left out while ineligible persons are not included in the electoral roll. The process involves house-to-house enumeration by Booth Level Officers and submission of enumeration forms.
That creates several possible outcomes during field verification.
A BLO may find:
- the elector at the registered address;
- the elector has moved;
- the elector cannot be contacted;
- the person is reported deceased;
- another entry appears to be a duplicate;
- or the enumeration information cannot be matched or verified.
The resulting categories are administrative classifications used during the revision.
The ASDDO cheat-sheetIn Delhi's 2026 SIR reporting, the acronym ASDDO refers to:
CategoryPlain-English meaningAbsentElector could not be contacted/found during the enumeration exerciseShiftedRecords indicate the elector has movedDeadRecord indicates the elector is deceasedDuplicateAnother electoral-roll entry appears to duplicate the personOthersOther cases that could not be placed in the above categories
Delhi officials described around 47.7 lakh electors as “uncollectable” and placed them in these ASDDO categories during the 2026 draft-roll process.
Important: ASDDO is the terminology being used in the Delhi exercise. Other states may use different terminology or administrative categories.
“Absent” does not mean “not eligible”Imagine a tenant who works from 9 AM to 8 PM.
The BLO visits twice.
Nobody answers.
The enumeration form is not collected.
That person's record can enter an Absent/uncollectable category even though the person:
- is alive;
- still lives there;
- is eligible to vote; and
- simply wasn't available during the verification period.
That is why checking the draft electoral roll matters.
“Shifted” needs special attentionA person can move without becoming ineligible to vote.
For example:
Old address → rented accommodation → new Assembly Constituency
The electoral roll needs to reflect the person's current ordinary residence.
Delhi's official SIR FAQ specifically says that a person who has shifted and therefore did not receive an Enumeration Form at the old registered address may need to file Form 6 at the new location during the claims period, together with the prescribed declaration and supporting documents.
So:
“Shifted” does not mean “lost voter status forever.”
It means the electoral-roll record needs to be dealt with through the applicable process.
What about someone marked “Dead” who is alive?This is one of the most urgent errors to correct.
If a living elector discovers that the draft record treats them as deceased:
Don't wait.
Collect evidence establishing the person's identity and current status and approach the appropriate election authority through the prescribed claims/correction process.
Delhi reporting has already documented cases where living residents said they were incorrectly recorded as deceased during the SIR process.
The lesson is not to assume the database is automatically correct.
Check your own record.
“Duplicate” does not necessarily mean fraudDuplicate detection can arise when the same elector appears to have more than one electoral-roll entry.
For example:
Old city + new city
or:
old address + new address
The ECI's general voter guidance says that deletion of a duplicate entry is handled through Form 7 in the applicable process.
The correct response is to establish which entry is valid and follow the prescribed procedure.
Don't create another application simply because someone tells you:
“Register again from scratch.”
First understand what happened to the existing entry.
Draft roll vs final rollThis distinction is critical.
The draft roll is not the final electoral roll.
The draft stage is followed by a period in which claims and objections can be submitted and processed according to the applicable SIR schedule.
For Delhi, the official schedule provided for:
Draft publication: 5 August 2026
Claims & objections: 5 August–4 September 2026
Notice/disposal phase: 5 August–3 October 2026
Final roll: 7 October 2026.
However, state schedules differ. The ECI's broader 2026 schedule places Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi and several other states in the October 1 qualifying-date group but with different draft, claims and final-roll dates.
So never copy Delhi's deadline into another state's SIR calendar.
What should you do if your name disappears?Use this sequence:
1. Search the draft roll
Check:
Name → EPIC → Assembly Constituency → Part/Serial
The ECI's elector portal provides SIR and electoral-roll search facilities.
2. Find the reason/category
If the available record shows:
Absent / Shifted / Dead / Duplicate / Other
save a screenshot.
3. Identify the correct remedy
Depending on your circumstances, this may involve:
- Form 6 for inclusion;
- Form 8 for correction;
- Form 7 for an objection/deletion-related situation;
- or a specific SIR claim/objection procedure prescribed by the state.
Don't select a form simply because the name sounds close.
4. Save the acknowledgement
Keep:
Application number + date + screenshot + submitted documents
in one folder.
The biggest mistake: “My name was there last year”That isn't enough.
An old voter ID doesn't guarantee that the current draft roll contains your name.
SIR is precisely an exercise in revising and verifying electoral-roll records.
Your five-minute check is:
Search → Screenshot → Check category → Act if missing
Why renters and migrants need to check carefullyPeople who frequently change accommodation can encounter administrative problems because their old electoral-roll entry remains at one address while they are living somewhere else.
This can affect:
- rented households;
- students;
- migrant workers;
- people who move between cities for employment;
- families that moved but didn't update their electoral-roll address.
The solution isn't to assume that every “Shifted” classification is wrong.
It's to determine:
Where do I ordinarily reside now, and where should my electoral entry be?
Then use the appropriate process.
What “Others” meansDon't turn Others into a catch-all conspiracy category.
It simply indicates cases that don't fit neatly into the principal categories in the relevant reporting framework.
If your record falls into an “Others” category, look at the actual reason or instructions available from the election authorities.
The category name alone may not tell you what document or application you need.
Logical discrepancy is a different trackThis is another important distinction.
Some electors can remain on the draft roll while receiving a notice because their records contain a discrepancy or could not be linked to the relevant previous intensive-roll record.
Delhi officials have described examples of anomalies involving age relationships, name mismatches and other linkage issues.
That is different from:
“My name isn't in the draft roll.”
So don't use the same remedy for both situations.
The citizen action matrixWhat you seeFirst thing to doName present, details correctSave screenshotName present, details wrongCheck Form 8 / applicable correction processMarked shiftedEstablish current ordinary residence and use prescribed inclusion/shift processMarked dead but aliveAct immediately with identity/supporting evidenceDuplicateDetermine the valid entry and use the prescribed procedureName absent from draftFile the applicable claim/inclusion application before deadlineNotice despite name appearingRead notice and respond through its specified processUnsure what category meansContact BLO/ERO or 1950
Don't confuse ASDDO with a final judgmentA category appearing in a draft-stage database is not the same thing as a statement that:
“This citizen is permanently ineligible to vote.”
The actual legal/administrative status depends on the electoral-roll process, claims, objections, notices, hearings and decisions applicable to that elector.
That is why the deadline matters more than the label.
Family SIR check: 20 minutesOpen the voter search for every adult in your family.
For each person record:
☐ Name present?
☐ EPIC correct?
☐ Part/serial correct?
☐ Address correct?
☐ Any ASDDO category?
☐ Any notice?
☐ Any correction required?
☐ Application/reference number saved?
Do elderly parents separately.
Don't assume:
“My father's name is there, so everyone's name must be there.”If an entire building has problems
Don't create 50 random WhatsApp complaints.
Create one simple evidence sheet:
Building → Flat → EPIC → Draft status → Category → Application number → Issue
Then approach the relevant election officials through the prescribed channels.
If the problem is systemic, a consolidated record makes the pattern easier to demonstrate.
One thing citizens should never doDon't manufacture evidence to “fix” a voter record.
Don't create duplicate registrations.
Don't submit someone else's documents as your own.
Don't use a fake death/shift/deletion claim to manipulate the roll.
Correct the record with genuine evidence through the official process.
The real takeawaySIR is fundamentally a roll-verification exercise.
For citizens, the practical rule is even simpler:
Don't argue about the category before checking your record.
Search the roll.
Understand what happened.
Use the correct process.
Save your acknowledgement.
And check the final roll when it is published.
How NetaSampark helps
SIR itself is an Election Commission process. NetaSampark can help citizens find relevant representatives and local civic contacts when they need help navigating a local issue or organising a community-level response.
Keep the actual electoral-roll application, claim, objection and verification on the official ECI/CEO channels.
Be Informed. Be Heard.
Sources to re-check before publishing
- Election Commission of India — Electors / SIR services
- CEO Delhi — SIR 2026 FAQ
- CEO Delhi — SIR 2026 schedule
Editorial caution: I would not publish the original sentence that says “Tenants, students in hostels, and circular migrants are over-represented in that bucket in megacity SIRs” unless you have a specific dataset supporting that claim. The sources establish that people who were absent or had shifted were included in the ASDDO/uncollectable group; they don't establish that those demographic groups are statistically over-represented.