Singapore Presidential Election: About 200 Singaporeans say names not in voter list despite voting in GE2020
The Elections Department said based on preliminary checks, some of the voters' NRICs may not have been properly scanned by devices at polling stations.
SINGAPORE — The Elections Department on Thursday (24 August) said that since the Writ of Election was issued on 11 Aug 2023, about 200 Singaporeans had informed it that their names were not reflected in the Registers of Electors certified on 20 July 2023.
This was despite the 200 claiming that they had voted at the last General Election in 2020.
As a result, this group did not receive their Poll Cards, and will not be able to vote at the upcoming Presidential Election on 1 Sept 2023.
The ELD said that based on preliminary checks, the NRICs of some voters may not have been properly scanned by the electronic registration devices used at polling stations in GE2020, which resulted in the "voter attendance data not being captured in the system".
The upcoming Presidential Election will have more sensitive electronic registration devices deployed at polling stations, the ELD said.
The ELD also said it will be reaching out to Singaporeans who have informed it of this matter, and will, "upon verification, restore their names to the registers after the election, so that they can vote at future elections".
"No further action from them is needed," the ELD added.
According to the department, a total of 32,807 voters successfully applied to restore their names to the registers between 5 Oct 2020 and 11 Aug 2023, when the Writ of Election was issued for the Presidential Election.
"As the Writ of Election had been issued on 11 Aug 2023, under the law, no restoration can be made to re-instate non-voters into the Registers until the end of Polling Day on 1 Sept 2023," the ELD explained.
"This is because the Registers are conclusive evidence used to determine whether a person is or is not entitled to vote at the election, and it is thus necessary to maintain the certainty of the Registers once the Writ was issued."
Singaporeans will go to the polls to choose the country's ninth President on 1 Sept, after Nomination Day confirmed a three-way Presidential Election fight among former minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, ex-chief investment officer of GIC Ng Kok Song and ex-chief executive officer of NTUC Income Tan Kin Lian.
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