In order to provide polling booth information to voters, Election Commission has launched Electoral Roll Search at the national level on April 8, 2014. This service can be used by voters to search their names and get information about polling stations in the nation-wide electoral rolls. The service is launched through Internet on mobiles, tablets or computers, and SMS through mobiles. Android users can also download an app from the mobile application store and run it to access the service.
While the service itself is free, the users may need to bear the cost of SMS or internet access as per their service plans with their phone or internet operators. In a Press release, the Election Commission provided the details of various methods to access the information.
Internet users can access the information by following “Voter Search” link provided on the website of the commission (www.eci.gov.in). Mobile users can also access the services through a specially designed website www.electoralsearch.in. Alternatively, Android phone-based users can install an application from electoral category of Mobile Seva AppStore of the Government apps.mgov.gov.in.
SMS users can access the information by sending preformatted SMS to predefined numbers. The services are available on a special 3-digit code 166 provided for BSNl, Idea, MTNl, Tata Docomo, Tata Indicom and Vodafone users. A special 5-digit code 51969 has been provided by operators such as Aircel, Airtel, BSNl, Idea, MTNl, Reliance, Tata Docomo, Tata Indicom and Vodafone. Finally, any user can access the service by sending the SMS to a 10-digit number 09223166166.
In order to access the services through SMS, voters must send a pre-formated SMS with a word “ECI” followed by details such as name, name of father/husband, locality, age or date of birth and gender separated by commas. As an example, an SMS “ECI Prabhat Singla”, would fetch the details of a voter names “Prabhat Singla” on a nation-wide search of voters. The application is designed and developed by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).
Initially, the service has been launched with electoral data from 14 states and Union Territories including Arunachal Pradesh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Puduchery, Punjab, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. It is likely to be made available in other states soon.