My form 8 has been accepted for change of phone number in Voter ID card. What is the next step and how much time it takes?

You will get a new voter ID from the Election Commission when you apply for a new voter ID or you apply to make any changes to the existing voter ID or you apply for a new one after it has been lost or you apply to correct existing voter ID card. It is being sent by post.

Once the application is submitted online for a specific purpose on the Election Commission of India portal, the booth-level officers of the Election Commission visit the applicant's home to take the report or make inquiries over the phone and submit the report to the Election Commission. They might also take report of you without your knowledge from people in your locality as well.

Now, the Booth Level Officer sends a report to the Election Commission. If the report is favourable, then Election Commission approves it.

The approved voter ID applications at Taluk Offices are sent in bulk to their respective center for printing Voter ID cards. It depends on how fast the respective center prints the card. So, the exact time to receive the Voter ID card may vary. As it is election time, the number of voter id cards to print will be huge. So, you can expect a delay.

What you can do if Voter ID is delayed

Contact the Booth Level Officer of the concerned booth and enquire about the status. Or enquire in the Election section of the Taluk Office within the limits of that Taluk.

Check whether your name is there on the Voters List

To vote in the election, you need to make sure your name is in the voter list for you to vote.

If there is a delay in getting the Voter ID Card, you can approach the Village Office/ Local Self Government Departments/ Booth Level Officer/ Important representative of the Political Party. They will have the recently published Electoral Roll/ Voter List. You can search it manually to find out if the name is there in the voter's list. Just check the voter list of your ward or polling station.

If this is not possible then you can use the Voter Helpline app. You can take a PDF printout of the voter list online by using the Voter Helpline app. Search there to find out if the name is there in the voter's list.

Apart from this, by entering the requested information in the search option of the Voter Service Portal, one can check whether the name is in the voter list.

What if my name is there in the Voter List but does not have a Voter ID

The Election Commission of India allows people whose names are there in the voter list but do not have voter ID also to vote in the election. A few days before the election, the Election Commission of India provides a list of alternate documents you can use to vote in the election. Normally, it includes documents such as Passport, Driving License, etc. The exact set of documents will be known a few days before the election. So, if you have any of those documents and your name is on the voter list, you can cast your vote.