The Election Commission just added a new declaration to the online Form 6; the same form millions of first-time voters use to register. You’re now asked: were you or your parents listed in the last Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls? If you say yes, the system demands your polling station, assembly constituency, and serial number from that roll. What’s odd? This checkbox doesn’t appear in the offline version. And though it’s not technically labeled ‘mandatory’; you can’t submit the form without ticking one of the three boxes. If you can’t recall your old voter details… you’re forced to claim you (and your parents) were never on the rolls. This isn’t just paperwork. Over 5.5 crore names were purged in the last SIR; 27 lakh alone in West Bengal; with thousands of appeals still stuck in tribunals. The move raises urgent questions: Who’s being filtered out? And is the state quietly building eligibility gates into the most basic civic right; voting? In 2021, the government enabled Aadhaar linking for voters. In 2022, Form 6 was legally updated. Now, in 2026, this unannounced digital tweak feels like the next step; not in voter inclusion, but in vetting. The quietest changes often leave the loudest marks.