How to File RTI with the Election Commission of India — Voter ID, Electoral Roll, Candidate Disclosures

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is one of the most powerful constitutional bodies in the country. Established under Article 324 of the Constitution of India, it is vested with the superintendence, direction, and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of elections to Parliament, State Legislatures, and the offices of the President and Vice-President.

Despite its constitutional status, the ECI is fully subject to the Right to Information Act, 2005. It is a public authority under Section 2(h) of the Act, and citizens have a clear, enforceable right to information held by ECI and all election-related offices — from Nirvachan Sadan in New Delhi down to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) in your district.

Important note on ECI's own RTI portal: Unlike most Central Government departments that use the common rtionline.gov.in portal, the Election Commission of India operates a dedicated RTI portal at eci.gov.in/rti-online-portal. This portal handles both online filings and digitises physical (postal) RTI applications into a central trackable dashboard. Always use the ECI portal when filing RTI with ECI, state Chief Electoral Officers, or related offices.

What Can You Achieve with RTI to the Election Commission of India?

• Find out the current status of your Voter ID (EPIC) — whether it has been issued, dispatched, or is stuck in processing
• Get the specific reason your name was deleted from the electoral roll, with a copy of the Form 7 deletion order
• Confirm whether due process was followed before your name was removed (notice, right to object, reasoned order)
• Access a candidate's Form 26 affidavit — disclosing criminal antecedents, assets, and liabilities — filed before the Returning Officer
• Get a candidate's election expenditure account (statement of accounts and vouchers filed under Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951)
• Obtain booth-wise election result data — valid votes per candidate per polling station — for any constituency and election
• Get delimitation and constituency boundary information, including order copies from the Delimitation Commission
• Know the Model Code of Conduct complaint outcomes for a specific election period
• Access procedural information about how elections are conducted, including training manuals, guidelines, and circulars

Where to File: The ECI Hierarchy

Election-related information is held at multiple levels of the ECI structure. Filing with the right authority ensures faster response and more relevant information.

1. Election Commission of India (Headquarters) — For National Matters

File at ECI HQ for:

• Lok Sabha (General Election) matters
• Policy-level information (Model Code of Conduct guidelines, delimitation orders, expenditure limits)
• Candidate disclosures for Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha elections
• ECI circulars, notifications, and general instructions to all states

Address: CPIO, Election Commission of India, Nirvachan Sadan, Ashoka Road, New Delhi — 110001 Online portal: eci.gov.in/rti-online-portal

2. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) — For State-Level Matters

Every state has a Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), usually an IAS officer, who acts as the nodal officer for all election matters within the state. File at the CEO level for:

• State Legislative Assembly election matters (including expenditure accounts and Form 26 affidavits for MLAs)
• State-level electoral roll summary revision data
• Voter enrolment statistics and roll publication schedules for the state
• Complaints filed under the Model Code of Conduct during state elections

For Delhi, file with: Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi (office located at Delhi Secretariat).

3. District Election Officer (DEO) and Returning Officer (RO) — For Constituency/District Matters

The District Election Officer (usually the District Collector or District Magistrate) and the Returning Officer for each constituency hold information about:

• Booth-wise election results for the constituency
• Candidate expenditure accounts and scrutiny outcomes
• Polling station details, polling personnel appointments
• EVM and VVPAT deployment information

4. Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) — For Voter ID and Electoral Roll Matters

This is the most important authority for individual voters. The Electoral Registration Officer — typically the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of your sub-division — is responsible for:

• Preparation and revision of electoral rolls
• Inclusion (Form 6), deletion (Form 7), and correction (Form 8) of entries
• Issuing Voter ID (EPIC) cards
• Appointing Booth Level Officers (BLOs)

For voter ID issues, file your RTI with the ERO for your assembly constituency. In Delhi, find the relevant ERO through the CEO Delhi office.

How to File: Step by Step

Step 1: Identify the Right Authority

Use the table above to determine whether your question relates to a national matter (ECI HQ), a state election matter (CEO), or a local voter ID / electoral roll matter (ERO). For most individual voter issues — EPIC status, name deletion, roll correction — file with the ERO for your constituency.

Step 2: Gather Your Reference Details

Before drafting your application, collect:

• Your EPIC Number (Voter ID card number)
• Your Assembly Constituency name and number (find this on the ECI Voter Portal: voters.eci.gov.in)
• The Part Number of the electoral roll where your name appears or appeared
• For election data queries: the name and year of the election, constituency name and number, and the candidate's name and party
• The mode and date of any earlier application (Form 6/7/8) you filed, if relevant

Step 3: Draft a Specific Application

Write clear, numbered questions. Refer to specific forms (Form 6, Form 7, Form 26), specific sections of the Representation of the People Act, and specific election names/years. Vague questions such as "give all information about my Voter ID" are harder to respond to and easier for a CPIO to deflect.

Step 4: File on ECI's RTI Portal

1. Visit eci.gov.in/rti-online-portal
2. Register or log in with your mobile number or email
3. Select the relevant public authority (ECI HQ, CEO of your state, or a district-level officer)
4. Paste your application text and attach any supporting documents (e.g., a copy of your EPIC, earlier acknowledgement slips)
5. Pay the ₹10 application fee online (BPL cardholders are exempt — upload proof of BPL status)
6. Note your registration number for tracking

Alternatively, file by post: Address your application to the CPIO at the relevant office, enclose a ₹10 Indian Postal Order (IPO) or Demand Draft payable to the Drawing and Disbursing Officer at that office, and send by registered post. Physical applications are digitised and integrated into ECI's central dashboard.

Step 5: Track and Respond to Queries

Log in to the ECI RTI portal to track the status of your application. If the CPIO raises a query or requests a clarification, respond within the time given. Keep a record of all correspondence.

Step 6: Appeals

First Appeal (Section 19(1), RTI Act): If there is no response within 30 days, or the response is unsatisfactory, incomplete, or evasive, file a First Appeal with the First Appellate Authority (FAA) at the same office (an officer senior to the CPIO) within 30 days of the date of the decision or the expiry of the 30-day response window, whichever is applicable. No fee is payable for appeals.

Second Appeal (Section 19(3), RTI Act): If the FAA's response is also inadequate or absent, file a Second Appeal with the Central Information Commission (CIC) within 90 days of the FAA's decision or the date it should have been made. Since ECI is a Central public authority, the CIC — not any State Information Commission — has jurisdiction over ECI HQ matters. (Note: RTI appeals against state CEO or ERO offices may go to the relevant State Information Commission.)

What Specific Information Can You Ask For?

Voter ID (EPIC) Status

1. Current status of EPIC bearing number XXX — whether issued, dispatched, or pending, with dates
2. The name, designation, and contact details of the BLO responsible for the relevant polling part
3. Whether any application in Form 6 (inclusion) or Form 8 (correction) was received from the applicant, and its current status

Electoral Roll Deletion / Exclusion

1. Whether the elector bearing EPIC No. XXX was deleted from the electoral roll during the Year revision — cite the ground (shifting, death, duplicate, disqualification) and the date of the deletion order
2. A certified copy of the Form 7 deletion order or the ERO's speaking order pertaining to this deletion
3. Whether a notice in the prescribed form was served at the elector's enrolled address before deletion, and the mode of service
4. Whether any objection was received against the deletion, and the outcome

Candidate Election Expenditure (Form 26 and Section 77 Accounts)

1. A copy of the Form 26 affidavit filed by candidate Name before the Returning Officer of Constituency, disclosing criminal antecedents, assets, and liabilities
2. A copy of the election expenditure account (statement of accounts) filed by the above candidate under Section 77 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, including all vouchers and bills
3. Whether the expenditure account was scrutinised; if yes, the outcome of scrutiny and whether any notice for excess expenditure was issued

Constituency-Level Election Results

1. Booth-wise (polling station-wise) valid votes secured by each candidate in Constituency for Election Name, Year
2. Total votes polled, total valid votes, total rejected/tendered votes, and postal ballot count for the above constituency
3. Date and time of counting, and the name and designation of the Returning Officer who declared the result

Delimitation and Constituency Information

1. The delimitation order (from the Delimitation Commission) applicable to Constituency, with the gazette notification date and number
2. The list of villages/wards/localities forming part of Assembly/Parliamentary Constituency as per the current delimitation
3. Any proposed or finalised re-delimitation affecting Constituency during Year

Model Code of Conduct and Complaint Records

1. The number and nature of Model Code of Conduct complaints received during Election, Year in Constituency/District
2. The outcome of complaints filed against candidate Name during Election, Year — whether investigated, upheld, dismissed, or referred to the State/Central authority

A note on Section 8(1)(j) — personal information of individual voters: The RTI Act protects personal information of third parties where disclosure has no relationship to any public activity or interest (Section 8(1)(j)). This means RTI cannot be used to obtain the personal details — address, phone number, or identity particulars — of another individual voter. However, RTI is fully available for systemic and process information: deletion orders, procedural compliance, expenditure accounts, and election result data. Frame your questions around ECI's actions and processes, not around extracting data about other individuals.