SINGAPORE: Transportable lap booths pertaining to nursing home residents who require bed-to-bed polling and the accessibility to postal voting regarding overseas Singaporeans a few new voting preparations being considered by Elections Department (ELD).
The department under the Prime Minister’s Office had announced in May that it was collecting suggestions through stakeholders such as political parties, nursing house operators and abroad Singaporeans on the introduction of special voting arrangements to improve voting accessibility.
On Tuesday (Jul 26), ELD said in a discharge that it had heard from 13 politics parties and 39 nursing home providers, and received nearly 3, 300 responses from overseas Singaporeans and members of the public.
ELD plans to pilot a special arrangement implemented in the 2020 Common Election – where voters on stay-home notice at designated hotels were allowed to cast votes – for voters residing in nursing homes.
About 13, 000 residents reside in more than 80 nursing facilities in Singapore.
Some concerns distributed to ELD about the proposed pilot include making sure voting secrecy plus determining whether inhabitants have the mental capability to vote.
To ensure transparency and secrecy, candidates or polling agents will be allowed to observe polling within nursing homes, said ELD.
“For the bed-to-bed polling by mobile polling teams, a portable lap booth will be provided so that voters can indicate their ballot documents in private shielded by the front plus sides of the presentation area, ” it stated.
With regards to concerns that voters may be affected by nursing home staff, ELD additional that it will “provide clear guidelines about what nursing home staff members can and are unable to do”.
For example , nursing home staff can assist a voter sit up in bed within preparation for bed-to-bed polling, but is going to be required to move away when the voter is ready to vote.
Additionally , nursing home staff will never be allowed to mark the particular ballot paper on behalf of a voter or engage in any activities that may influence a voter when this individual marks the ballot paper.
“If the voter is literally unable to mark the ballot paper, he is able to request for an selection official to assist your pet to do so, similar to what is done at a normal polling station, ” said ELD. “A second election official will witness the process as a safeguard. ”
For nursing house voters who might lack the psychological capacity to vote, the ELD can adopt the current method at regular polling stations. This includes not issuing a ballot paper if the voter does not respond to the particular election official’s repeated requests for their identification document plus poll card.
To ensure the safety of nursing home residents, assistance will be taken from existing public health and relevant guidelines. Special voting arrangements will be hanging if these guidelines do not allow election officials to access nursing homes.
Observing feedback from stakeholders that the profile associated with residents can vary across nursing homes, ELD stated it will engage providers further before finalising the parameters plus selection criteria because of its pilot.