Moving house is the most common reason a registered voter ends up unable to vote. Your entry stays at the old address until you move it, and on polling day you are expected at a booth you may no longer live anywhere near.
The fix is Form 8, under the heading “shifting of residence”. You do not file Form 6 again.
Why not Form 6
Form 6 is for people being included on a roll for the first time, and its declaration says so. Filing it when you are already registered creates a duplicate entry across two constituencies, which is an offence, not a shortcut, and eventually gets one or both entries deleted.
Form 8 moves your existing entry. That is what you want.
The part people get wrong
The application goes to the Electoral Registration Officer of the constituency you have moved to, not the one you left.
This is counter-intuitive. Your instinct is to tell your old officer you are leaving. But the new ERO is the one who has to satisfy themselves that you are now ordinarily resident in their constituency, and it is their decision to make. Filing at the old constituency sends it to someone with no authority to add you anywhere.
If you file online, selecting the correct new state, district and Assembly constituency routes it correctly.
What you need
- Your EPIC number: this identifies the entry to be moved.
- Self-attested proof of your new address, in your own name or that of a parent or spouse if the document is theirs.
- The full new address with PIN code.
You do not need a new photograph unless you are also asking for a corrected one.
How to file it
- Sign in at voters.eci.gov.in.
- Open Form 8.
- Select shifting of residence. Form 8 covers four different things: shifting, correction of entries, replacement of EPIC, and marking as a person with disability. Tick only one and strike out the rest; an application with several options ticked gets rejected.
- Enter your new address and upload the proof.
- Submit and keep the reference number.
The paper form is available as a PDF from the ECI and can be given to your Booth Level Officer.
What happens to your old entry
Once the new ERO approves the shift, the old entry is removed. You end up with one entry, at your current address, and your EPIC number normally stays the same: it identifies you, not your address.
Your part number, serial number and polling station will change, because those describe your position in the new roll. Check them again afterwards.
Moving within the same constituency
Still Form 8, still shifting of residence. Your constituency has not changed but your polling station probably has, since booths are assigned by locality. It is a smaller change, but an unupdated address can still send you to the wrong booth.
Timing
Do this as soon as you move. Rolls are frozen ahead of an election, and once frozen no change can be made until after polling. A shift filed a fortnight before polling day will almost certainly not take effect in time.
Afterwards, confirm the new entry on the roll and look up your new polling booth.
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