Caught Zzz-ing with first-time voters

As damage control, EC sought to project unity after the recent expose of differences within the 3-member poll panel. But questions about its functioning remain. One of the key issues of difference between CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the two ECs, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, as ET reported last week, was the annual Summary Special Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls. The 2026-27 revision missed its May-June announcement window, delaying the inclusion of new 18-year-old voters, and disrupting a process followed since 1958. On Saturday, EC said young and first-time voters can seek inclusion through continuous updation and directed officials to launch a special enrolment drive. But it did not announce resumption of the annual SSR.

Read more: Unanimous on SIR, EC eases voter hearings, enrolment

Sandhu and Joshi are learnt to have earlier pushed for SSR to resume, arguing that it is required under electoral-roll manual. The exercise has become more urgent since the commission introduced 4 qualifying dates, allowing eligible young people to register through the year, rather than wait until the following January. The delay followed the launch of SIR, first in Bihar in 2025, and later in other states.

Young India is a substantial and increasingly consequential part of the electorate. The 'Gen Z'-led protests earlier this year were a reminder that it is neither disengaged nor indifferent. There can be a legitimate case for cleaning up electoral rolls through SIR. But EC's core failure is allowing that exercise to disrupt the routine process of enrolling new voters, without ensuring a clear, timely alternative. A voter-roll exercise cannot be allowed to stall another, particularly when the consequence is to leave eligible new voters uncertain about when and how they can exercise a basic democratic right.