Pune: Voters with Duplicate Names to Be Verified; Undertaking Required at Polling Booths

Pune, 3rd November 2025: Ahead of the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra, the State Election Commission (SEC) has ordered a thorough verification of voter lists to eliminate duplicate entries. The move aims to ensure transparency and prevent malpractice during the polls for Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils, Zilla Parishads, and Panchayat Samitis.

District officials said that if a voter’s name appears more than once in the electoral roll, it will be marked as a duplicate. At polling stations, such voters will be required to submit an undertaking confirming that they have not voted elsewhere before being allowed to cast their vote.

With concerns over ‘vote theft’ surfacing in several parts of the state, the SEC is taking multiple measures to maintain the integrity of the electoral process. The voter lists used for local body elections are drawn from the Legislative Assembly rolls. However, due to technical or clerical errors, some names appear twice—either in different wards or within the same list—creating scope for fraudulent voting.

To address this, the SEC has directed all District Collectors and Municipal Commissioners to identify and tag duplicate entries. A double asterisk (**) will appear next to the names of suspected duplicate voters in the official rolls. These lists are being made available on government websites for review by local election officials, who must verify whether the duplicate entries belong to the same individual or to different persons with similar names.

Officials have also been instructed to contact voters whose names appear more than once. Such individuals must specify in writing the ward or polling station where they intend to vote. Only that location will be considered valid for casting their ballot.

“The credibility of elections depends on the accuracy of the voter list. Therefore, ensuring that it is free from duplication is crucial,” the SEC stated in its directive.

The initiative is part of the Commission’s broader effort to strengthen voter confidence and ensure that the forthcoming local body elections are conducted in a free, fair, and transparent manner.