Thiruvananthapuram: Following widespread complaints, the State Election Commission has reinstated the Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number issued by the Central Election Commission, which had been excluded from the draft electoral roll for the local body elections. 

The EPIC number has been restored alongside the newly introduced special identity number on the State Election Commission's portal. Those who registered without providing an EPIC number will be assigned only the special identity number.

The facility to search the electoral roll by State or local body using either the EPIC number or name has also been reinstated. `Manorama' had previously reported the removal of the EPIC number from the electoral roll and the restrictions in the portal limiting searching for names solely by ward. These limitations had created obstacles in identifying whether a voter's name appeared in multiple wards.

Voters' names can now be searched using the portal's voter search option by selecting State, local body and ward, according to a press release issued by the State Election Commission yesterday evening. Searches can be conducted using the name provided during enrolment and the EPIC number (new or old). The new or old SEC number issued by the Commission can also be used. A name can only be tracked by entering both the name and the Voter ID Card number provided at the time of enrolment.

Complaints on double votes can be filed with ERO
Complaints regarding duplicate entries in the electoral roll for the local body elections can be submitted to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), the Commission stated. This announcement follows the restoration of the provision to search for a voter's name by State and local body using the name and EPIC Number. Additions and deletions to the electoral roll, corrections to personal details, and changes in ward assignments can be made until October 14. The final voter's list will be published on October 25.