The Election Commission of India (ECI) has directed all state election officers to prepare for the nationwide rollout of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls by September 30, indicating that the voter list cleanup exercise could commence as early as October–November.

During a recent conference of state Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) in New Delhi, the EC leadership instructed them to gear up for the SIR rollout within the next 10–15 days. September 30 has been set as the formal deadline to ensure uniform readiness across all states.

State CEOs have been asked to keep voter rolls from the last SIR ready for reference. Many states have already published the voter lists from their previous SIRs on their official websites.

For instance, Delhi’s CEO website displays the 2008 voter list from the last intensive revision, while Uttarakhand’s last SIR was in 2006 and its list is also available online.

The previous SIR in each state will act as the cut-off reference, similar to how Bihar’s 2003 voter list is being used for its ongoing revision.

Most states conducted their last SIR between 2002 and 2004 and have nearly finished mapping their current voters against those earlier records.

The EC has confirmed that after Bihar, the SIR will be conducted across the country. This move is significant as it aims to identify and remove illegal foreign migrants by verifying place-of-birth records.

The exercise comes amid increased enforcement against illegal migrants, including those from Bangladesh and Myanmar, and ahead of crucial 2026 Assembly elections in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.