GE2020: Singaporeans head to the polls

As many as 2.65 million Singaporeans are expected to vote in the general election from 8am on Friday (July 10).

They will cast their votes at 1,100 polling stations across the country.

A total of 10 opposition parties and one independent candidate are challenging the ruling People's Action Party in this election, where Singaporeans will pick 93 Members of Parliament.

Seats in all 17 group representation constituencies (GRCs) and 14 single-member constituencies (SMCs) are being contested.

No ballot papers will be issued after polling closes at 8pm.

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, arrangements have been made by the Elections Department (ELD) to ensure the safety of voters.

Each voter has a recommended time-band to cast their ballots on polling day, so as to spread out the crowd across polling hours.

To minimise their interaction with younger voters, senior voters aged 65 and above have been assigned time bands between 8am and 12 noon, said the ELD.

Family members voting at the same polling station may accompany the senior to vote, but only one accompanying family member will be accorded priority voting, along with the senior voter.

Seniors who are unable to vote in the morning time-bands may do so after 12 noon, and will still be placed in a priority queue and given assistance by election officials if needed.

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A special voting hour for those who are sick or are serving their Stay-Home Notice at home will take place between 7pm and 8pm.

At polling stations, the temperature of each voter will be recorded. Those with a temperature of 37.5 deg C and above will be turned away, and asked to return during the special voting hour.

Voters are also required to sanitise their hands and to wear gloves before receiving their ballot papers, while the ELD said that polling equipment will be sanitised regularly.

This election also marks the introduction of self-inking pens following feedback in previous elections that some voters, especially seniors, had difficulty gripping regular pens to mark their votes.

The pens allow voters to easily mark an "X" on the ballot paper by applying pressure, like a chop.

On Tuesday, the ELD said that the marks made by self-inking pens on ballot papers for the election will not become invisible, debunking false claims that were circulating online.

Voters may also bring their own pens to mark the ballot papers if they wish.

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The ELD will first reveal "sample count" results for each of the 17 group representation constituencies and 14 single-seat wards after polls close.

A hundred ballot papers from each polling station will be randomly chosen by a counting assistant in the presence of the candidates and their counting agents.

The votes will be added up and weighted based on the number of votes cast at each polling station.

The sample count for each constituency will be shown as a percentage of the valid votes earned by the candidates.

Sample counts are generally about 95 per cent accurate, plus or minus four percentage points.

The first sample count results will probably come from the single-seat wards where there are fewer voters and could be released from about 10pm.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.