E-registration of voters at polling stations planned for next election
Voters registering at polling stations during the next election may no longer need to wait for an election official to manually search and strike off their names from the register. Photo: Koh Mui Fong/ TODAY
SINGAPORE — Voters registering at polling stations during the next election may no longer need to wait for an election official to manually search and strike off their names from the register. Instead, a scan of the voter’s identity card could suffice.
On Thursday (March 1), Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister in the Prime Minister Office, said in Parliament that the Elections Department is planning to roll out an electronic voter registration process at the “next election”.
He was responding to suggestions made by Member of Parliament Png Eng Huat (Aljunied GRC), who had raised several suggestions on the registration and voting process at polling stations. The next General Election is expected to be held by January 2021.
Speaking at the Committee of Supply debate for the Prime Minister’s Office’s budget, Mr Chan said that the Elections Department had initially planned to introduce e-registration during the Presidential Election last year and had conducted roadshows on the new process.
It was reported before that there were plans to pilot the e-registration process at Yuhua constituency, and the Chua Chu Kang and Tanjong Pagar group representation constituencies (GRCs).
The aim was to reduce the waiting time for voters, as well as the number of election officials needed at the polling stations.
However, the Presidential Election was not held in the end because there was only one candidate — now President Halimah Yacob — who qualified, and it was uncontested.
In response to media queries, the Elections Department said that this e-registration process is similar to how patients at polyclinics or hospitals in Singapore scan their identity cards to register themselves for their appointments.
“Closer to the next election, (we) will publicise the new process to familiarise voters with (it),” its spokesperson said.
Mr Chan said on Thursday that the booth design at polling stations will be refined continually, adding that the Elections Department already has a new design prototype due to the preparation for the Presidential Election last year.
