The final voter list is expected to be released on February 10, 2026, after the Election Commission on Monday ordered a "Special Revision" of Assam's electoral rolls.
The poll panel instructed the state's chief electoral officer that the revision exercise's qualifying date would be January 1, 2026.
According to officials, the Special Revision of electoral records is in between the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and the yearly Special Summary Revision in terms of scope and severity.
Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, praised the Election Commission's ruling and pledged the state government's complete cooperation.
"The Govt of Assam welcomes the Election Commission of India's decision to undertake a Special Revision of the electoral rolls with 01.01.2026 as the qualifying date," he wrote on X.
"All eligible individuals will have accurate, up to date, and clean election rolls thanks to this. Assam would work closely with the @ECISVEEP to finish the revision in a timely and transparent manner," he continued.
Officials said the Special Revision falls in between the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the annual special summary revision.
The goal of a Special Revision is to update and correct the rolls without conducting a comprehensive enumeration. It is intended to improve accuracy and fill in the list's gaps in a methodical but sensible way.
On the other hand, a Special Intensive Revision is a far more thorough and demanding procedure. It is typically used when significant adjustments or roll cleaning are needed. It entails more thorough verification, numerous checks, extensive field work, and a greater level of scrutiny.
As a result, the Special Revision requested for Assam is not as rigorous as a complete SIR, but it is more comprehensive than a standard summary revision.
"It is in a way an upgrade of special summary revision instead of enumeration forms, booth-level officers will verify electors on a pre filled register," a high-ranking official stated.
Door to door verification is scheduled to take place between November 22 and December 20. On December 27, the integrated draft electoral roll will be released, and on February 10 of the following year, the final roll.
Booth level officers (BLOs) will get a pre filled register with the information of current voters in their respective districts for house to house verification in order to conduct field verification.
Through direct communication with residents or the head of the home, each household will function as the fundamental unit for verifying or updating voter information.
The poll panel explained that as there is no need for verification in the case of D Voters (doubtful voters), their information will not be added to the BLO registry.
D Voters are those who have been found by special tribunals as having invalid citizenship documents under the Foreigners Act of 1946.
Their information, including name, age, and photo, will be carried over to the draft electoral roll without modification even though they do not obtain voter cards.
The Commission emphasised that any modification, including removal, could only occur "upon receipt of an order from the competent Foreigners' Tribunal or an appropriate court of law."
Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Puducherry, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep all received SIR orders from the EC last month. Elections are scheduled for Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal in 2026. Assam's elections are scheduled for next year.
"A special order will be issued by the Election Commission to hold SIR in Assam," reportedly stated Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
"There are distinct provisions for citizenship in Assam under the Citizenship Act," he continued. The process of verifying citizenship is soon to be finished under the Supreme Court's supervision. The country wide SIR order was issued on June 24. This would not have applicable to Assam in such a situation.
