The Kakkanad district election office is buzzing with activity as local body polls approach on December 7, 2025. Election work began in July with initial checks of electronic voting machines (EVMs). On December 3, EVMs were commissioned, meaning they are now ready for polling. Ballots were loaded into the machines as part of this final step. Though the election office has only six officials, about 30 staff from different departments are working around the clock on poll duties. Early preparations included appointing and training 116 returning officers (ROs) for 111 local bodies, including extra officers for larger municipalities. Kakkanad saw a three-phase voter roll renewal process, involving hearings and complaint resolutions to ensure accurate lists. Polling staff numbering over 12,000 have been deployed via e-DROP, a National Informatics Centre web app, across 3,021 polling stations. Officials are now busy issuing postal ballots and distributing election materials. Postal ballot applications were accepted until December 3 at the district office and until 5 p.m. on December 6 with ROs. Materials will be sent out from 28 centers. The election team's work will finish only after counting votes on December 13. This year, the workload increased due to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls happening simultaneously. Deputy Collector (Elections) Sunil Mathew said, "The Revenue officials had to face many difficulties as they were engaged in both SIR and election-related work this time. Despite the stress, the preparations for the polls have been conducted flawlessly."