Chennai, April 8 (IANS). Tamil Nadu has seen a significant increase in the number of first-time voters ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. According to data released by the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer on Wednesday, the number of voters in the 18-19 age group has increased by about 33.6 percent.
The number of young voters has increased from 10.9 lakh during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to 14.6 lakh currently, reflecting a significant change in the electoral demography of the state.
A slight increase has also been recorded in the total number of voters. After the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, the number of voters had reduced to 5.67 crore but by the last date of filing nominations, April 6, this number has increased by 6.36 lakh to 5.73 crore.
This increase comes after the inclusion of new applicants who submitted Form 6 after the publication of the final SIR voter list on February 13. These newly enrolled voters will be eligible to participate in the assembly elections.
The increase in the number of first-time voters is particularly significant as their share in the total electorate has increased. During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, voters in the 18-19 age group were just 1.8 per cent of the total voters, which then numbered 6.23 crore.
Despite the total number of voters coming down to 5.73 crore after the SIR process, the proportion of first-time voters has increased to 2.5 per cent.
Election officials said this increase was expected because the SIR process resulted in the names of most age groups of voters being removed, thereby increasing the relative share of young voters. However, the sharp increase in absolute numbers indicates strong youth enrollment in recent weeks.
Of the 6.36 lakh voters added after February 13, almost a third were first-time voters, taking their total number to 14.6 lakh from 12.59 lakh.
The SIR process has brought about major changes in the voter lists. Before the amendment began in October 2025, Tamil Nadu had 6.41 crore voters. This number dropped to 5.44 crore due to deletion of 97.34 lakh names during the census phase in December. Later, this number increased to 5.67 crore after processing claims and objections.
As of April 6, there are 5,73,43,291 registered voters in the state, including 2,93,04,905 women and 2,80,30,658 men. The number of females is 12.74 lakh more than males which maintains a steady trend. Additionally, there are 7,728 transgender voters while Dharmapuri is the only district where the number of male voters is slightly more than female voters.
–IANS
SAK/PM