Voter Photo Identification Card Number and Related Issues

Why in News?

Recently, the Election Commission took cognizance of some reports of voters getting the same Voter Photo Identification Card number in two different states, West Bengal and Gujarat and issued a clarification.

About Voter Photo Identification Card Number:

• Electors Photo Identification Card (EPIC) number is a 10-digit voter ID number issued to every voter by the Election Commission of India.
• ​​The Voter ID Card issued by the Election Commission of India serves as an identity proof for Indian citizens above the age of 18 years.
• This card also allows Indians to cast their vote in municipal, state and national elections.

EPIC Main uses of the number:

• Access to electoral services: With the help of EPIC number, one can access various electoral services such as checking voter status, changing information on voter ID card and applying for voter ID card.
• Prevention of fraud: As EPIC number is unique for each voter, it helps in preventing bogus voting.
• Identification of registered voters: This number indicates the eligibility of a person to vote and also the details can be found in the voter list.
• Participation in the election process: Based on this number, the details of the voter list are determined by the state and central governments.

Related issues:

• Duplication of EPIC numbers: Allegations of duplication of EPIC numbers have been made by many political leaders, raising questions on the sanctity of the electoral system.
  • Some migrant workers of Bengal have been allotted EPIC numbers. The same EPIC numbers were also allotted to voters of Gujarat and Haryana.
• Reasons for duplication: According to the Election Commission, allotment of same EPIC number/series to some voters of different states happened due to the decentralised and manual system followed before migration of voter list database of all states to ERONET platform.
  • ERONet is a web-based platform developed in multiple languages ​​and scripts for election officials to manage all the processes related to registration, migration and deletion of names from the voter list.
    

Clarification by Election Commission:

• According to the Election Commission, EPIC numbers of some voters may be same but other details including demographic details, assembly constituency and polling station are different for voters with same EPIC number.
• The EPIC number is not the same as the EPIC number. Despite the number being the same, any voter can cast his vote only at his designated polling station in his respective constituency of the state where he is enrolled in the voter list.

Way Forward:

• To remove any apprehensions, it has been decided by the Election Commission to allot unique EPIC numbers to the registered voters.
• Any case of fake EPIC numbers will be rectified by allocating a unique EPIC number.
• The ERONet 2.0 platform needs to be updated to aid this process.