Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru (NJC)
Mangaluru, Aug 24: As part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being undertaken across Karnataka, the draft electoral roll for Dakshina Kannada district has been published with 16,46,387 voters.
As many as 1,50,153 voters whose names have not appeared in the draft roll due to reasons including non-mapping, changes in names or parents' names, discrepancies in age and other issues will receive notices through Booth Level Officers (BLOs).
Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner Darshan H V shared details of the district's draft electoral roll during a press conference held at Praja Soudha in Padil on Monday.
The notice distribution process will begin on August 24 and continue until September 23. During this period, voters left out of the draft roll will have an opportunity to submit claims and objections. The notice will mention the date, time and venue of the hearing, while BLOs will deliver the notices to the respective voters' residences.
If a voter is unable to appear before the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) within the stipulated period, an additional opportunity will be provided. However, failure to appear even during the extended period may result in deletion of the name from the electoral roll, the DC said.
Voters attending the hearing must bring the required documents and fill in the prescribed form. Documents can also be uploaded online, but physical appearance before the ERO or AERO will be mandatory, Darshan clarified.
According to the SIR guidelines, individuals born before July 1, 1987, must provide documents establishing their date and/or place of birth. Those born between July 1, 1987, and December 2, 2004, must provide documents establishing their own date or place of birth, along with documents establishing the date or place of birth of either their father or mother.
As of June 16, 2026, Dakshina Kannada had 18,03,766 registered voters, and enumeration forms were distributed to all of them. Of these, 16,46,387 forms (91.27%) have been digitised, while 1,57,379 voters (8.73%) have been marked under the ASDD category.
The district's ASDD-marked cases include 82,988 voters who have permanently migrated, 45,318 deceased voters, 15,395 voters whose names are registered elsewhere and 2,554 cases classified under other categories.
At present, one Electoral Registration Officer and one Assistant Electoral Registration Officer are functioning for each Assembly constituency in Dakshina Kannada. A proposal has been submitted to the Election Commission for the appointment of 154 additional Assistant Electoral Registration Officers in the district. Approval is expected within the next couple of days, the DC said.
Darshan also clarified that receiving a notice does not mean that a voter's name will automatically be deleted from the electoral roll.
"Even if a voter was present in the electoral roll up to June 2026, the name may have been left out of the draft roll during mapping with the 2002 electoral roll, due to changes in names or other reasons. Voters need not panic. After verifying the required documents, necessary steps will be taken to include eligible voters in the final electoral roll," he said.
Additional deputy commissioner Raju K, Urban Development project director Dr Santosh Kumar, Mangaluru City Corporation chief accounts officer Akshatha and other officials were present at the press conference.