Safety measures for polling during Covid-19 era announced

Singapore could call for the general elections soon, with voters going to the polls as early as July, political observers have speculated.

Last month, Parliament passed a law to allow special and temporary arrangements to be implemented in order to protect voters, candidates and election officials, should the next election take place during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Elections Department (ELD) has since drawn up contingency plans for safety measures during polling proceedings, they announced today (June 8).

Here's how polling day would be like with the new safety measures.

Step 1: Temperature screening

All voters would be subjected to temperature screening to identify anyone with a fever or respiratory systems.

A decision on whether they would be allowed to vote would be made later, based on the prevailing coronavirus situation.

If you feel unwell and are unable to vote on polling day, you may access ELD's expanded digital service (e-service) to restore your name to the register of electors. You do not need to produce a medical certificate for this.

Step 2: Electronic registration

To reduce contact with others, voters would self-scan their NRIC for registration after showing their identification card to the election official. This would require voters to lower their masks.

If there is a need to hand their NRICs to the election officials, voters are required to first sanitise their hands.

As the e-Registration system records the time voters register at the polling stations, they are not required to check-in via the SafeEntry app for contact tracing.

Step 3: Receive ballot paper

Voters would then head to another station, where they would be asked to sanitise their hands before putting on a pair of disposable gloves. After doing so, voters would be handed their ballot paper.

This is to minimise the risk of contaminating the self-inking pen provided at the polling station, as well as the ballot slips which would later be handled by counting assistants. Voters may also choose to use their personal pen. 

Step 4: Vote

As with previous elections, voters will mark their choice on the ballot paper, then drop it into the ballot box.

Step 5: Exit polling station

Before leaving the premises, voters must dispose of their gloves in a waste bin and sanitise their hands once again.

Other things to note:

Social distancing

To reduce the risk of crowding, ELD said that more polling stations would be set up to reduce the number of voters at each location. As such, voters are not recommended to bring along non-voters, such as young children, to the polling stations.

Voters are reminded to maintain a safe distance among one another at all times. The seating area for election officials and polling agents would also be spaced out to keep everyone at least a metre apart.

Time slots

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Two-hour time slots would be allocated to each voter, which would be indicated on their hardcopy poll card and e-poll card (accessible via the SingPass app).

As nearly two-thirds of polling stations would have at least 400 voters aged 65 and above, the 8am to 12pm slot has been reserved for them, ELD said. If they're unable to make their allocated time slots, senior voters would be able to join the priority queue. 

Voters are also recommended to check the polling station's queue status via VoteQ.gowhere.gov.sg before heading over to cast their votes.

According to ELD, as long as voters abide by their allocated time slot, the total time spent by a voter within the polling station (including registering, sanitising and voting) should not exceed five minutes.

Hygiene practices

In line with current laws, voters must wear masks when they leave their homes. They are also required to sanitise their hands and put on disposable gloves before casting their votes.

All election officials would be equipped with appropriate protective equipment, such as surgical masks, disposable gloves and face shields. They would also have access to water and soap with which to wash their hands.

Dedicated cleaners would also be deployed to clean common touchpoints, including polling booths, at least once every 30 minutes. After the polls close, the entire polling station would be thoroughly disinfected.

Voters on SHN

For those serving their stay-home notice (SHN), if there are more than two voters in the same SHN facility, a polling station will be set up for them away from other voters as permitted under the Parliamentary Elections (Covid-19 Special Arrangements) Act 2020.

As with previous elections, there would be back-up polling stations in place if new clusters are found around planned polling stations.

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For the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit here.

rainercheung@asiaone.com