Electoral Rolls & EPIC

Management System
(ERMS)
Saleem Khan
Technical Director, NIC

Introduction
Name of the Project
J&K Electoral Rolls and EPIC Management System

User Department
Chief Electoral Officer, Jammu and Kashmir

State Level Agency

NIC J&K

Language
English / Urdu / Hindi

URL of the Website

http://ceojk.nic.in
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Basic Details
Parliamentary Constituencies
Assembly Constituencies
Districts
Tehsils
Polling Stations
Registered Electors (15.05.13)
EPIC Card Holders (15.05.13)
EPIC Coverage (15.05.13)

6
87
22
82
9460
68,31,447
58,79,272
86.06%

Major Objectives
Hosting of ERMS Application and database at the
NIC Data Centre (4 TB SAN Storage)
On-line Filing and Tracking of Voter applications
Monitoring by the EROs, DEOs, the CEO and the
ECI
Authentication by means of Digital Signatures of
ERO
History/ Log of the entire workflow
Total transparency
Integration of Textual Data with Electors Images
National Voter Search
National de-Duplication

Processes
Digitization of Form 6 - for addition of new voter, Form 7 - for
objection on inclusions and deletions, Form 8 - for corrections /
modifications and Form 8A - for transposition within AC.
Keeping track of every citizens application /claim.
Data transfer or uploading to centralized database location.
De-duplication and searching of data/ record.
Assignment of work to enquiry officers (by ERO) for received
applications / claims for each part in each AC.
Processing of application (by ERO) after reporting of enquiry officers
(acceptance/ rejection/ further clarification).
Integration of Mother Rolls with Supplementary Rolls.
Printing of a Parts header page, electoral roll and MIS reports.
Conversion of photographs from picture format to binary format and
merging with alphanumerical data.
Printing of Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC).
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Salient Features
Claims and Objections
Continuous Updation - Digitization of Electors claims as soon as received
E-Filing of claims / objections and their Online Tracking
Changes in E-Rolls authenticated by ERO using Digital Signatures
Complete History/ Log of the entire workflow from filing to disposal
MIS Reports/ Screens for EROs, DEOs, the CEO and the ECI
Electoral Rolls
Electoral Rolls in Urdu and English (for entire state) and in Hindi (for 5 districts)
Being available on the official website, Rolls are easy to obtain and read / understand.
Photo-Electoral rolls to help in elimination of impersonation during voting.
Name based and EPIC No. based search in the Rolls
Online generation of family wise Rolls extracts in Urdu, English and Hindi
Alphabetically sorted Electoral Rolls at the time of polling
Computerized Voter Slips at the time of Elections
Electors Photo Identity Cards
So far, 56 Lakh bi-lingual EPIC cards have already been distributed.
Centralized Auto generation of unique EPIC number in order to curb fake card production
Capturing/ storing/ automatic indexing the electors photographs and linking with textual data
The software enables auto-Detection of logical data errors
It is for the first time that such large-scale use of Urdu for data entry and report generation has
been carried out anywhere in India.
National Voter Search
National de-Duplication
6

Status of Implementation
Online ERMS Application and database at NIC Data Centre
System users are the CEO, all District Election Officers, all Electoral and Assistant Electoral Officers
Computerized Electoral Rolls in Urdu & English (for the entire state) & in Hindi (for 5 districts)
56 Lakh bi-lingual EPIC cards have already been distributed covering 82% of the electorate

Web Interface
Electoral Rolls http://ceojk.nic.in/ElectionPDF/Main.aspx
Name based and EPIC No. based Search http://ceojk.nic.in/efiling/main.aspx
E-Filing of Claims and Objections http://ceojk.nic.in/eFiling/addvoters.aspx
Claims and Objections tracking http://ceojk.nic.in/claimforms/frmformsdisplay.aspx
Citizens Grievances http://eci-citizenservices.nic.in

Mobile (SMS) Interface (Number: 919211728083)

919211728083)
Where am I (in Electoral Rolls)? JKERM <space> STATUS <space> 10-character-EPIC
Who is my Booth Level Officer? JKERM <space> BLO <space> 10-character-EPIC
Where is my Polling Station? JKERM <space> PS <space> 10-character-EPIC
Is the EPIC Number valid? - JKERM <space> VALID <space> 10-character-EPIC
Get Help about different SMS based services - JKERM <space> HELP
Automated processes during Elections
Randomization of Polling Parties
Randomization of Electronic Voting Machines
SMS based Communication Plan for Poll-day Monitoring
Webcasting
Candidates Information online
Affidavits Hosting
Results Processing

Problems Faced
Maintaining control over Data Multiple versions, scope for manipulation
Ensuring easy availability of Electoral Rolls without personal contact
Providing a common interface to public for lodging grievances
No tracking mechanism for Elector claims and objections
Fixing responsibility for errors/ omissions Good quality MIS
Peculiarities of Urdu Language and Font
Achieving standardization in RDBMS, data structures, user interface, report formats
Disconnect between EPIC Database and Rolls Database
Errors in Transliteration (due to inherent differences in languages)
Removal of Errors / Duplications and ensuring fidelity of Rolls
Countering Voter Apathy
Improving Gender Ratio
Netting the Young Electors
Including homeless, migrants, NRI, transgender, disabled and sex workers
Fine-tuning the Elector-Population Ratio as per the National average
Reaching the target of 100% EPIC coverage
Preventing impersonation during voting

Overcoming the Challenges

Centralized ERMS preventing multiple versions and scope for manipulation
Online Electoral Rolls in downloadable PDF format ensuring transparency
Public Grievance mechanism online at http://eci-citizenservices.nic.in
Online and via SMS Tracking of Electors claims and objections
All changes to be authenticated by use of DSC by the EROs
Nastaleeq Font with Unicode storage
MS SQL RDBMS and ECI approved data structures, user interface, report formats etc.
Integration between EPIC Database and Rolls Database
Continuous Improvement in Transliteration Dictionary
De-duplication and inbuilt checks for preventing junk data entry
Systematic Voter Education for Electoral Participation (SVEEP)
Celebrating 25th January as Voters Day
Booth Level Agents of political parties
Enrolment in educational institutions
Newspaper Ads, TV tickers, Brochures
Deploying Designated Photography Locations (DPL)
Webcasting of polling in Hypersensitive polling stations
SMS based poll-day monitoring
Photographing and then analysing with IT tools the voters faces
National / State-wide database of EVM with randomization function
Randomization of polling parties

Capacity Building
Training at IIDEM under ECI
Creating Master Trainers
Training Programs for ERO/ AERO
Rules and Procedures
Using the ICT Applications

Training to Booth Level Officers

Films/ Videos/ Case Studies
Spreading awareness through

Database Structure
Electoral Rolls are computerized i.e. maintained in a relational
database organized into tables prescribed by ECI
Database is stored in two set of tables:
1. Control Table (Master Tables) - Defines relationship
between Electoral
units such as Parliamentary
constituencies, Assembly Constituencies, Parts, Sections
and administrative units
2. Elector Details Table Provides details of the electors
Database is updated during every revision process

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Control Tables
Details in Control tables are required:
For printing details on the Part header
For data integration of database of all electors in
the State
Prepare the Draft Rolls in PDF format

If the control tables are not filled in a

timely manner and correctly, then all the
pains taken by EROs to ensure the
enrollment of eligible persons would be
wasted
It is very important to prepare control tables
with extreme care and diligence so that the
Electoral Rolls are properly generated
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Control Tables
The Control tables are entered once and used
multiple times for roll preparation. An error in
control table can magnify multiple times, so
utmost care has to be taken while preparing
control tables.
DEOs /EROs are responsible for collection of this
data from the field.
DEOs/ EROs supervise the data entry by data
entry operators
State Level Agency (SLA) provides the technical
support
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Election System
Parliamentary Constituencies
Assembly Constituencies
Parts
Polling Stations
Polling Station Buildings
Sections
14
14

Revenue Hierarchy
Divisions
Districts
Sub-Divisions
Tehsils
RIs / Kanungo Circles
Patwari Circles
Villages
15
15

Rural Dev. Hierarchy

Blocks
Panchayats
Villages
Reserved Forest

16
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Urban Dev. Hierarchy

Towns
Nagar
Nagar
Nagar

Nigam (Municipal Corporation)

Palika (Municipality)
Panchayat (City Council)

Wards
Metros
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17

Misc. Units
Police Stations
Post Offices

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18

Points to Remember
Each AC is linked with one PC only
Each Part is linked with one AC only
Each Section is linked with one Part only
A Part can have multiple Polling Stations
Multiple Polling Stations can be located in one
PS Building
The relationship between each unit in each
different system is one-to-many OR many-toone.
Eg. One PC can have multiple AC, but AC can
have only one PC

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19

Linking ACs with PCs

DISTRICT 1

5
4

3
6
7

9
1

DISTRICT 2
3

BOUNDARIES LEGENDS

DISTRICT
PC
AC
PART

20
20

Linking ACs with Districts

5
4

DISTRICT 1

6
7

DISTRICT 2

BOUNDARIES
DISTRICT
AC
PART

21
21

Linking AC with Districts

DISTRICT 1

5
4

3
6
7

9
1

DISTRICT 2
3

BOUNDARIES LEGENDS

DISTRICT
PC
AC
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PART

22

Types of Revision
There are four kinds of revision :Intensive Revision
Summary Revision*
Partly Intensive and Partly Summary,
Special Summary Revision.

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ELECTORAL ROLL
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
(SOFTWARE)
The ERMS (Electoral Roll Management
System) will cover the entire process of
Electoral Roll preparation for the state from
Electoral Roll Revision data management to
final Electoral Roll publishing.

24
24

Understanding ERMS
Modules
(Core Components)

25

25

Architecture of ERMS
State Level
System

Control Table

Electoral Roll
ERO
Uploaded
Bulk Export

BLOs

Door to door
verification

Managing Electoral
Roll that includes
insertion, deletion,
updating and
transposition within
AC. And printing of
Electoral Roll
including one or
multiple
supplementary list.

Local Machine

Form 6
Form 7,8 & 8A
Electors

26

= Database

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Component Description (Modules)

Admin Module ( For managing users )
Intensive / Summary Revision Data
Upload Application
ERO / AERO Application
Integration and Roll Printing Application
Electors Photo Identity Card
Preparation and Printing Application
Searching Module (Web/Mobile based)
Control Table Management Module

27

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Summary Revision Data Upload

An application used to Add, Delete and
Update the Electoral Roll. This application is
supported by 4 prescribed formats : Form 6 - For inclusion of name in
Electoral Roll
Form 7 - For objection to inclusion of
name in Electoral Roll
Form 8 - Application for objection to
particulars entered in Electoral Roll
Form 8A - Application for transposition
of entry in Electoral Roll. (Within AC)
Form 6A NRI Applications
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Data Entry and Data Security

List of amendments are entered into a database
using a software provided by NIC during every
revision
Data is entered with utmost care ensuring error free
entries as it will be published as Rolls later
ERO ensures that manuscripts of additions, deletions
and corrections are entered timely and correctly
BLO goes through checklists and certifies that
correct data is entered in the database after the
corrections made by ERO in the Roll
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Data Entry and Data Security

All forms received on paper must be computerized
immediately and data uploaded on CEOs server
Processing of data should start only after it is
uploaded on the Server
Full data base security at server level is essential
Data is uploaded on a database separate from
electoral data base. It may be called uploaded data
base
Data is shifted from uploaded to electoral database
only after full enquiry and approval by ERO with
digital signature authentication by ERO
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ERO / AERO Application

This application is for the Elector Registration
Officer to approve revisions made through
Summary Revision Data Upload Application.
Roles of ERO
Assign Enquiry Officer for each parts of the
AC for each type of forms received i.e.,
Form6, Form7, Form8, Form8A.
After BLO verification, this application is
used for either approving / rejecting cases.
Updating records in the main database of
electoral roll.
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Integration and Roll Printing

This software is used for integration of
electoral roll that means for merging
Mother Roll and one or more
supplementaries*.
For the printing Electoral Roll ( Part wise )
with or without photos.
Printing of Part Header Page with Control
Table Units
* Note : Supplementary List means new
additions, modifications and deletions in
the roll.
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EPIC Preparation and Printing

ERO can create EPIC for Electors using

this application. The main functionalities of
this application are : To cross check and verify the data available
at the server for EPIC generation
After verification of data the EPIC can be
generated for each elector in a pdf format.
Provision to make duplicate EPIC.
To generate MIS report on distribution.

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Reports
Report on Statistical Analysis in Format 1 to 8
analyzing EP Ratio, Sex Ratio, Age Cohorts etc
Report on number of claims and objections
received in Form 6, 6A, 7, 8 and 8A and
percentage of claims and objections accepted
Report on deletions giving deletions based on
Form 7 and suo-moto deletions separately
Report on number of inclusions, deletions and
net increase in number of Electors

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Major Recent Initiatives

1. Online Repository for Electronic Voting
Machines (EVM)
All India Database of EVMs maintained by
the ECI
Data entry completed for Jammu and
Kashmir
State, district and ware-house wise inventory
of Ballot Units (BU) and Control Units (CU)
De-duplication and avoidance of conflicts
Workflow for Intra-district, Intra-state and
Inter-state transfer of BU and CU on demand
First-level check (working status) by vendors
Second-level check (Randomization) of EVM
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for deployment

Major Recent Initiatives

2. Public Grievance Monitoring
Public Grievance and Citizen Services portal of ECI
at

http://164.100.34/138/pgr
and

http://164.100.34.138/publiccomplaints
CEO, DEO, ERO, AERO, RO, ARO and BLO users
Establishment of Call Centers at the levels of CEO
and DEO
Marking/ forwarding of application
Deadlines for redressal
SMS generation
Phone numbers to be mapped to 1950 (Toll Free)36

AGGRIEVED
PEOPLE
Complainant
can
know
status of his
complaint on
Public
Website and
through Call
Centre.

5
Public Website

For each complaint,

a unique Complaint
ID via SMS is sent
on
complainants
registered
mobile/cell
phone
no.
for
tracking
purpose.

1a

COMPLAINTS

ECI
SINGLE STATE/MULTI
DISTRICT COMPLAINTS

PGR SERVER

Fax
Fax

COMPLAINT LEVELS &

NATIONAL / MULTI-STATE
CONTROLLING
OFFICER

AGGRIEVED
PEOPLE

CEO
Phone Call
SINGLE DISTRICT/MULTIAC COMPLAINTS

AGGRIEVED
PEOPLE

Letter

SMS

Personal Meeting
An aggrieved person
can lodge a complaint
through
various
channels such as Toll
Free
No,
Public
Website, Letter, Fax,
Personal
Meeting,
Phone Call and SMS
to
concerned
officer.

Complaints
from
various
sources
except
Public
Website and Toll Free No. are
entered
into
the
system
manually and auto forwarded to
the concerned officer with an
SMS according to the level
chosen by the complainant.
All users at each level have
their own system account for
processing complaints.

DEO
SINGLE AC COMPLAINTS

ERO/RO

COMPLAINT LODGED DIRECTLY

TO CONCERNED OFFICER

Satisfaction Response for the Action

Taken by the officer is confirmed by
personal phone call and by Call Centre
till the complete disposal of complaint.

PUBLIC
PUBLIC
GRIEVANCE
GRIEVANCE
REDRESSAL
REDRESSAL

ELECTION COMMISSION OF
INDIA

C
O
M
P
L
A
I
N
T
F
O
R
W
A
R
D
I
N
G

3
When a complaint is
37
received, concerned officer
based on the subject takes
necessary action.
Officer
may
manually
forward a complaint to
next lower hierarchical
level (if available) for
necessary action.
In case of Multi-Level
complaints,
the
final
decision will be taken by
37
the next higher
level
officer of the selected
complaint level.

Future Plans
1. SMS based Poll Monitoring
Tested successfully in Last Vidhan Sabha Polls in Bihar
etc.
An Event based management system from the time of
dispatch till the time of deposition of election material
SMS gateway obtained through NIC. 9212357123 is the
virtual destination number that ECI has purchased from
NIC to receive messages from all over India.
TRAI has allowed bulk SMS for this purpose
Every functionary CEO, DEO, RO, ARO, PO made
system user by means of their mobile number
Pre-poll, Actual Poll and Post-poll process monitoring by
means of SMS generated in pre-defined formats
SMS can be sent directly or through the System Website
Auto-reminders for defaulters to send reports within the
set Time Limits
Status update enables fast decision making whether the
38
event is sudden or expected

Future Plans
2. Webcasting of Poll process
Tested successfully in Last Vidhan Sabha Polls in a few
constituencies
To keep a check on illegal activities such as booth
capturing, money distribution and bogus voting to
bringing about complete transparency.
To broadcast and monitor LIVE, the election process
from a distant polling station.
To spread awareness to participate in Free and Fair
Elections.
Laptop/ Desktop, Webcam, Network connection and a
Chat Client / Free software/ 3rd party messenger are all
that is required.
Prevention of malpractices by election officials
Eliminating impersonation
Live broadcast enables timely decision and action
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ERMS Cell
What you will need?
Civil/ Electrical works (if required). Basically the room should be neat and
clean, dust and seepage free and there should be adequate power sockets
to connect the equipment
Earthing should be proper in order to prevent high leakage current.
Desktops/ Laptops - About 1 per AC
Peripherals 1-2 Printers, One Scanner etc.
Stable Power Supply One UPS 2/3/5 KVA. The supply to sockets should
be through this UPS
Servo Stabilizer (AVR & Manual) - 7-8 KVA for 5 KVA UPS; 5 KVA for 2-3
KVA UPS
DG Set - 10 KVA
Adequate Furniture for Computer Centre
Connectivity NICNET (wherever feasible)
Consumables Toners, Stationery, Pen Drives
Technical Manpower Data Entry Staff
Telephone Line Dedicated for 1950 (Only at District HQ)
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Stakeholders
Responsibilities
Election Department
Procurement/ purchase of Computers, Printers, Scanners, UPS, DG Set
LAN Material (Cables, Switches, Routers),
Care and upkeep of all tangible items,
Consumables (Toner Cartridges, Stationery)
Data Entry for Continuous Updation
Disposal of Claims/ Objections
Printing / Scanning on small scale
Public Grievance Redressal / Monitoring
Updation of ERMS Control Tables
Updation of PGR/ PSL Control Tables
Prepare and provide content (soft copy) for CEOs website
CEOs Portal updation
Data Entry for EVM database

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Stakeholders
Responsibilities
NIC (SLA) State Unit and District Offices
Support for Database Storage and Management
Software Development and Deployment
Software Customization as per user needs
Troubleshooting except Hardware maintenance
Coordination with vendors for Equipment maintenance
Bandwidth provision
Video Conferencing facilities
Training (faculty only)
Networking Support and Technical Guidance/ Consultancy

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Stakeholders
Responsibilities
Third Party Vendors
Bulk Data Entry
Bulk Printing
Managing the DPL (Designated Photography Locations)
Photo scanning/ cropping/ cleaning/ compression,
grayscale conversion
Form001B printing
Image integration with E-Rolls database
Card Production (printing, hologram, lamination etc.)

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Important Website URLs

Election Commission of India
http://eci.nic.in
Chief Electoral Officer, J&K
http://ceojk.nic.in

Polling Station Location Mapping Data

http://164.100.34.138/psleci (for viewing only)

http://164.100.34.138/psl
(for data upload)

Public Grievance Redressal System

Option 1: Go to eci.nic.in and click on Online Complaints

Option 2: http://164.100.34.138/CS

Contact Details
Saleem Khan, Scientist E & Technical Director
0191-2546672, 0194-2474116
+91-9419123923
saleem.khan@nic.in
Baiju Ubbot, Scientist B
0191-2546672
+91-9419151650
baiju.ubbot@nic.in
Election Commission of India
ecitechsupport@gmail.com
EVM --> Sh. Abhishek Sharma (09810286385)
PGR --> Sh. Manish Kumar (09350980259) and Sh. Bikash Kumar
(09873446557)
MS (Expenditure Monitoring) --> Sh. Amit Gautam (09210061687)
and Sh. Rohit Chhabra (09873339975)
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Thanks

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