Voting for the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly election is underway, and turnout has risen sharply through the day. As of 3 pm, polling stood at 70%, compared with 53.35% at the same time in the 2021 election.
Election officials said the poll is the first Assembly election after the SIR exercise. The process led to the removal of a large number of names from the electoral rolls, while about 14 lakh new voters have been added across the state.
The Election Commission has reiterated that its goal is to achieve 100% turnout and said it introduced several new initiatives this time to encourage participation. Voters were seen turning up in large numbers from the morning.
According to the official updates, turnout was 17.69% at 9 am, 37.56% at 11 am, and 56.81% at 1 pm, before reaching 70% by 3 pm.
With more people voting than in the previous election, expectations have risen that the final turnout will be higher. Officials said efforts are continuing to sustain the momentum through the rest of the day.
