Karnataka SIR 2026: Over 1.11 Crore Voters Flagged for Verification; Names Not Deleted, Clarifies EC

Byline: Political Bureau

Publication: Bangalore Mail

Dateline: BENGALURU

BENGALURU: Over 1.11 crore voters across Karnataka—accounting for roughly 20 percent of the state’s total electorate—have been flagged for address and identity verification under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2026 of electoral rolls.

Addressing widespread speculation among citizens and political parties, the Election Commission (EC) clarified on Thursday that the flagged names have not been deleted from the electoral rolls. Instead, they have been temporarily placed under the ASDDO category—comprising voters who are Absent, Shifted, Deceased, Duplicate/Already Registered, or under Other categories requiring verification.

Out of Karnataka’s total 5.54 crore registered electors, exactly 1,11,07,461 voters were categorized under ASDDO as of August 4, 2026.

Bengaluru Urban & BBMP Zones See Highest Impact

The capital city accounts for a major share of the flagged entries, with over 49 lakh voter entries falling under the ASDDO categories across four Bengaluru electoral zones:

 BBMP South: 11,07,678 voters (51.65% of local electorate)

 BBMP Central: 9,15,035 voters (48.42% of local electorate)

 BBMP North: 11,07,027 voters (47.46% of local electorate)

 Bengaluru Urban: 18,13,010 voters (45.09% of local electorate)

Other districts recording high ASDDO flags include Mysuru (5,72,509), Kalaburagi (5,35,403), Belagavi (5,07,983), Raichur (3,21,107), Vijayapura (3,01,264), and Dharwad (2,81,242).

Breakdown of Flagged Voters in Karnataka

According to data released by Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) V. Anbukumar, the ASDDO list comprises:

PERMANENTLY SHIFTED: 66,64,943

DECEASED: 16,30,872

ABSENT / UNTRACEABLE: 16,30,012

ALREADY REGISTERED ELSEWHERE: 6,89,904

OTHER FLAGGED REASONS: 4,88,974

What Citizens Need to Do Before August 8

Voters whose names are categorized under ASDDO will not feature in the draft electoral roll set for publication on August 17.

However, electors who believe they have been wrongly categorized as shifted or absent can immediately submit proof of residence to their respective Booth Level Officers (BLOs) or Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to restore their enumeration status.

Important Notice: The window to verify and restore wrongly flagged entries remains open until August 8, 2026.

To assist voters, the CEO office has published district-wise lists accessible at the state election portal (ceo.karnataka.gov.in/asddo.html).

Status of Form Digitisation and New Registrations

The CEO informed that 100% of enumeration forms have been distributed across the state, with 79.93% (4.43 crore forms) already digitised. Udupi district led the state in digitisation speed at 93.95%, whereas BBMP zones trailed around 48%–54%.

Additionally, election officials received over 12.20 lakh applications between June 16 and August 4, including 3,72,201 Form-6 submissions for new voter registrations. Around 10 lakh Form-6 applications have been deployed across Greater Bengaluru to onboard citizens turning 18 on or before October 1, 2026.