GE2020: ELD admits mistake after officials told woman she couldn't vote on Polling Day
For one Singaporean woman, Polling Day was fraught with frustration as she repeatedly tried to cast her vote, only to end up settling for marking her choice on a tendered ballot paper which would not be counted.
As it turns out, the entire debacle was caused by human error and miscommunication between two election officials, the Elections Department (ELD) admitted in a statement on Wednesday (July 15).
The 36-year-old woman, identified only as Mdm Lum, had initially made a police report after she was not able to cast her vote on July 10 as the register reflected that she had already voted, Lianhe Wanbao reported.
Recounting her experience to the Chinese daily, Lum said that she had first arrived at her designated polling station, Block 23A Ghim Moh Link, at about 12.30pm that day.
Things went smoothly until she had to scan her identity card under a reader to register her attendance and an error message popped up.
After several unsuccessful attempts to scan her identity card, an election official assisted her, typing her NRIC into the registration system manually, the woman, who belongs to Holland-Bukit Timah GRC recalled.
To her surprise, she was told her NRIC had already been used to vote earlier.
Lum maintained that she had not cast her vote yet, nor has she ever lost her identity card.
According to her, an official asked her if she "really wanted to vote" before issuing a tendered ballot paper to her. She also had to sign an Oath of Identity form to confirm her identity and to declare that she had not already voted.
However, it was only after she received the tendered ballot that the official explained to her that it would not be counted in the final tally.
Tendered ballot papers are blue in colour and are issued to people who apply to cast their vote even after the Presiding Officer has informed them that they have already voted, according to the register.
According to the Parliamentary Elections Act, tendered ballot papers are not counted. Instead, they are placed into separate packets, sealed and retained.
Lum called ELD that afternoon to provide feedback on the issue and was advised by an ELD employee to make a police report, she said.
She later returned to the polling station at about 2pm and made another phone call to ELD at about 5pm but her efforts to have her vote counted were in vain.
This is her third time voting in an election but the first time that this issue has cropped up, she said.
GE2020: ELD aware of 'serious allegation' that polling agent told voter who to vote for
SINGAPORE: The Elections Department (ELD) said on Friday (Jul 10) it was aware of an online posting by a voter alleging that a polling agent who assisted her mother had told her who to vote for.
“These are serious allegations,” ELD said, urging the voter to come forward with the specifics of the incident to the department.
It added all polling agents are confined to a specific area in the polling station to observe the polling process and are not allowed to assist voters.
Election officials might explain the method of voting to a voter requesting an explanation.
“Our election officers are trained to do this audibly, to ensure that polling agents can hear the conversation,” ELD added.
“ELD is committed to ensuring voting security and secrecy, and has put in place rigorous controls at every step of the voting process to ensure this.”
ELD has requested that the voter in question contact the department at contact@eld.gov.sg or 1800-CALL-ELD (1800-225-5353) so that it can look into the matter.
New saga involving ELD: Woman only successfully voted after 4 attempts!
Goh Meng Seng also jin tulan, fired off a letter to ELD liao.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=149524713399412&id=106022737749610
GE2020: ELD admits mistake after officials told woman she couldn't vote on Polling Day
For one Singaporean woman, Polling Day was fraught with frustration as she repeatedly tried to cast her vote, only to end up settling for marking her choice on a tendered ballot paper which would not be counted.
As it turns out, the entire debacle was caused by human error and miscommunication between two election officials, the Elections Department (ELD) admitted in a statement on Wednesday (July 15).
The 36-year-old woman, identified only as Mdm Lum, had initially made a police report after she was not able to cast her vote on July 10 as the register reflected that she had already voted, Lianhe Wanbao reported.
Recounting her experience to the Chinese daily, Lum said that she had first arrived at her designated polling station, Block 23A Ghim Moh Link, at about 12.30pm that day.
Things went smoothly until she had to scan her identity card under a reader to register her attendance and an error message popped up.
After several unsuccessful attempts to scan her identity card, an election official assisted her, typing her NRIC into the registration system manually, the woman, who belongs to Holland-Bukit Timah GRC recalled.
To her surprise, she was told her NRIC had already been used to vote earlier.
Lum maintained that she had not cast her vote yet, nor has she ever lost her identity card.
According to her, an official asked her if she "really wanted to vote" before issuing a tendered ballot paper to her. She also had to sign an Oath of Identity form to confirm her identity and to declare that she had not already voted.
However, it was only after she received the tendered ballot that the official explained to her that it would not be counted in the final tally.
Tendered ballot papers are blue in colour and are issued to people who apply to cast their vote even after the Presiding Officer has informed them that they have already voted, according to the register.
According to the Parliamentary Elections Act, tendered ballot papers are not counted. Instead, they are placed into separate packets, sealed and retained.
Lum called ELD that afternoon to provide feedback on the issue and was advised by an ELD employee to make a police report, she said.
She later returned to the polling station at about 2pm and made another phone call to ELD at about 5pm but her efforts to have her vote counted were in vain.
This is her third time voting in an election but the first time that this issue has cropped up, she said.
More at https://www.asiaone.com/singapore/ge2020-eld-admits-mistake-after-officials-told-woman-she-couldnt-vote-polling-day
ELD fucks up yet again: woman has yet to vote, register reflects she has already done so.
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/znews/singapore/story20200714-1069075
Stir ah stir! ELD must come clean!
GE2020: ELD aware of 'serious allegation' that polling agent told voter who to vote for
SINGAPORE: The Elections Department (ELD) said on Friday (Jul 10) it was aware of an online posting by a voter alleging that a polling agent who assisted her mother had told her who to vote for.
“These are serious allegations,” ELD said, urging the voter to come forward with the specifics of the incident to the department.
It added all polling agents are confined to a specific area in the polling station to observe the polling process and are not allowed to assist voters.
Election officials might explain the method of voting to a voter requesting an explanation.
“Our election officers are trained to do this audibly, to ensure that polling agents can hear the conversation,” ELD added.
“ELD is committed to ensuring voting security and secrecy, and has put in place rigorous controls at every step of the voting process to ensure this.”
ELD has requested that the voter in question contact the department at contact@eld.gov.sg or 1800-CALL-ELD (1800-225-5353) so that it can look into the matter.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/eld-aware-online-post-alleging-agent-told-voter-mother-12921116
https://www.facebook.com/14440041382/posts/10158683465331383/