Unless the Returning Officer specifies otherwise, voting at all ordinary polling stations in Singapore starts at 8 am and ends at 8 pm.

A voter must cast his vote in person and only at the ordinary polling station to which he has been allotted.

	NUMBER OF POLLING AGENTS

Polling agents may be appointed by the candidate, principal election agent, or any of his election agents after Nomination Day. For voting in ordinary polling stations in Singapore, the number of polling agents that may be admitted to a polling station is one polling agent per candidate for every 1,000 electors (or part thereof) allotted to vote at a polling station.

	FORMS TO PRODUCE BEFORE ENTERING ORDINARY POLLING STATIONS

For candidates

Candidates are allowed to enter any ordinary polling station to observe the polling proceedings. The candidate will need to produce a duly completed and signed Oath of Secrecy form and show his original NRIC (physical or digital) or valid passport at the main entrance of the first polling station he visits. After checking, the election official will retain the Oath of Secrecy form.

For polling agents

Every polling agent must produce a duly completed and signed Oath of Secrecy form, his appointment in writing as a polling agent, and his original NRIC (physical or digital) or valid passport to the election official at the main entrance of the first ordinary polling station. The polling agent’s evidence of appointment should be in the form of the Appointment of Polling Agent form. After checking, the election official will retain both forms.

The polling agent must submit a new duly completed and signed Appointment of Polling Agent form for each ordinary polling station that he enters.

Nominated candidates and their election agents can download the form via Candidate Services. The forms in hard copy will also be provided to candidates at the end of nomination proceedings on Nomination Day if the election is contested.

	UNDERSTANDING THE VOTING PROCESS

Before start of poll

Before start of the poll, election officials will show to the candidates and polling agents present at the ordinary polling station that the ballot boxes and their covers are empty before sealing the boxes. Ballot boxes are sealed before the start of the poll in such a way that ballot papers cannot be taken out without having to break the tamper-proof seals. The sealing of the ballot boxes starts 10 minutes before the poll opens.

As soon as the ballot boxes are sealed, the election officials will direct voters to the registration tables and open the poll at 8 am (or such other time as the Returning Officer may specify).

Polling process at ordinary polling stations

Each person whose name is on a Register of Electors is entitled to one ballot paper and has only one vote. A voter must also cast his vote in person; no proxy voting is permitted.

Before issuing a ballot paper to a voter, the election official will:

1. authenticate the identity of the voter, by checking the voter’s poll card and personal identification document (only the original NRIC (physical or digital), passport, or identity cards issued by the Singapore Armed Forces, Singapore Police Force and the Singapore Civil Defence Force are acceptable);
• eRegistration devices will be used at ordinary polling stations in Singapore to scan personal identification documents for registration.
2. ensure that he is a registered voter;
3. check that the ballot paper is authentic, i.e. it bears the official mark on it;
4. call out the voter’s serial number and name according to the register;
5. write the voter’s serial number on the counterfoil of the ballot paper;
6. fold the ballot paper in half; and
7. hand the ballot paper to the voter, who will use a self-inking X-Stamp or his own pen to indicate his choice of vote on the ballot paper.

If the election official ascertains from the eRegistration device that the voter is registered as an overseas voter or a nursing home voter, the election official will ask the voter to sign the Declaration by Voter form to declare that he has not already cast a vote overseas or at his nursing home. The election official will proceed to issue the voter with a ballot paper only after the declaration is made.

No ballot paper will be given if the voter’s name does not appear in the Register of Electors for that ordinary polling station.

No person, except an election official acting for a purpose authorised by the law (i.e. explaining the method of voting or assisting a voter who by reason of blindness or other physical disability is unable to vote), is allowed to communicate or attempt to communicate with any voter after the voter has received a ballot paper and before the voter has marked and placed it in a ballot box.

A tendered ballot paper (which is blue) will be issued to a person to cast his vote if the person insists on voting even after the election official has explained that according to the eRegistration device, the person has already voted (i.e. the voter’s attendance to vote has already been recorded in the eRegistration device of that ordinary polling station earlier during Polling Day). Before a tendered ballot paper is given, the person has to first make a declaration as to his identity by signing the Oath of Identity form.

If a voter claims that he has made a mistake on the first ballot paper given to him or that he has accidentally spoilt it, the election official may issue the voter another ballot paper. The election official has to take back the spoilt ballot paper and mark “CANCELLED” on it before sealing it in an envelope.

At the end of poll, the slits through which marked ballot papers are dropped into the ballot boxes are sealed to ensure that nothing else can be dropped into them.

Legal powers of election officials during voting

The election official or any other person authorised by him may explain the method of voting to a voter who requested him to do so. Polling agents may listen in if they wish to.

The election official may, only on the request of a voter, help the voter to mark his ballot paper if the voter is unable to mark the ballot paper as a result of blindness or other physical disability. The election official will mark the ballot paper according to the voter’s directions and then place the ballot paper in the ballot box. No polling agents are allowed to be present when the election official is helping the voter to mark the ballot paper. This is to ensure voting secrecy. Every election official is under oath to keep the voter’s ballot a secret.

For any visually impaired voter who wishes to mark the ballot paper on his own, the election official will insert the ballot paper into the plastic stencil provided and pass the stencil to the voter to allow him to indicate his choice in one of the cut-out boxes on the stencil. The election official will speak clearly and audibly to the voter (so that the polling agents may also hear) as to the arrangement of the candidates’ names printed on the ballot paper. The voter will then proceed to mark the ballot paper at the polling booth.

If an election official notices that a voter is taking an unusually long time at the polling booth, the election official may also take such steps as are necessary to expedite the process.

Observing the process to transport sealed ballot boxes from ordinary polling stations to counting centres

The candidate or his polling agents may observe the process to transport the sealed ballot boxes from the polling stations to the counting centres.

For polling stations that are co-located with or near the counting centres, the candidate or his polling agent may accompany the sealed ballot boxes when they are carried by election officials from the ordinary polling station to the counting centre. For each ordinary polling station, only one person per candidate will be allowed to participate. The candidate will have priority over his polling agent.

Where a vehicle is used to transport the sealed ballot boxes from the ordinary polling stations to the counting centres, the candidate or his polling agent may board the vehicle, provided that he informs the election official at the ordinary polling station in advance and completes and signs an Indemnity Form for Participation in Observing the Transportation of Sealed Ballot Boxes before 6 pm on Polling Day. He should be present and ready to board the vehicle after the ballot boxes are sealed and not delay the transportation process. The vehicle will not wait for the candidate or polling agent who is late even if he has submitted his Indemnity Form earlier. If there is already one polling agent representing the candidate on the vehicle, any other polling agent representing the same candidate will not be allowed to board.

Special voting arrangements will be piloted at some nursing homes (special polling stations). Voters who are in-patients or residents of these nursing homes can cast their votes at the nursing homes they reside in. The special voting arrangements include voting in person at polling place(s) set up within the premises of the nursing home, and/or deploying mobile polling team(s) to allow those who are not able to make their way to the polling place(s) to cast their votes at their beds.

The list of nursing homes selected for the pilot will be made public in the Government Gazette on Nomination Day after the close of nomination proceedings if the election is contested.

Polling agents will be allowed to witness the conduct of polls at the special polling stations. Special voting arrangements will be carried out in accordance with the prevailing national health guidelines or measures, and also the nursing homes’ safety guidelines or rules that may be in place.

Voting at special polling stations starts at 8 am and ends at 8 pm on Polling Day unless the Returning Officer specifies otherwise.

	POLLING AGENTS

Number of polling agents

For special voting arrangements at nursing homes, the number of polling agents that may be admitted to each special polling station to observe polling proceedings is one polling agent per candidate per polling place and one polling agent per candidate per mobile polling team.

The candidate, his principal election agent or any of his election agents must submit the full names (as shown in NRIC) and NRIC numbers of all polling agents appointed at each special polling station (if any) to the Returning Officer no later than two clear days before the start of the polls in Singapore. This includes polling agents who may be changed or substituted during the course of Polling Day. The names of polling agents appointed at special polling stations may be submitted via Candidate Services.

Details on the number of polling agents allowed and any safety guidelines or rules that may be in place at each special polling station will be provided via Candidate Services after the close of nomination proceedings, if the election is contested. As the type of special voting arrangement(s) at each special polling station will only be finalised on the eve of Polling Day, when the total number of electors who may cast their votes at the special polling station is finalised, candidates are recommended to appoint a default of two polling agents for each special polling station before the start of poll. The election official at the special polling station will inform the polling agents present before the start of the poll on Polling Day on the type of special voting arrangement(s) for the special polling station and the specific number of polling agents allowed to observe voting by attendance in person at polling place(s) and/or mobile polling within the special polling station at any point in time.

	FORMS TO PRODUCE BEFORE ENTERING SPECIAL POLLING STATIONS

For candidates

Candidates are allowed to enter any special polling station to observe the polling proceedings. The candidate will need to produce a duly completed and signed Oath of Secrecy form and show his original NRIC (physical or digital) or valid passport at the main entrance of the first polling station he visits. After checking, the election official will retain the Oath of Secrecy form.

For polling agents

Every polling agent must produce a duly completed and signed Oath of Secrecy form and his original NRIC (physical or digital) or valid passport to the election official at the main entrance of the first special polling station that he has been appointed at. After checking, the election official will retain the Oath of Secrecy form.

Nominated candidates and their election agents can download the Oath of Secrecy form via Candidate Services. The form in hard copy will also be provided to candidates at the end of nomination proceedings on Nomination Day if the election is contested.

	UNDERSTANDING THE VOTING PROCESS

Polling at the special polling stations will be carried out as follows:

1. voting by attendance in person at polling place(s) within the special polling station to cater to voters who are able to make their way to the polling station; and/or
2. mobile polling team(s) moving from bed to bed for those who are not able to make their way to the polling station (i.e. mobile polling).
• the number of mobile polling team(s) appointed will be based on the number of voters identified to vote via mobile polling at the special polling station.

Candidates and polling agents who wish to observe the polling proceedings are to arrive at the special polling station no earlier than one hour before start of poll. The sealing of ballot boxes for both types of special voting arrangements will start 10 minutes before the poll opens.

The polling agents representing the same candidate must decide who should be stationed at the polling place(s) and who should follow the mobile polling team(s). The mobile polling team will inform the polling agent when it is ready to commence mobile polling.

The polling agents present will be provided with a principal list of nursing home voters and where applicable, a supplementary list of nursing home voters, a list of mobile polling voters as well as one or more supplementary lists of mobile polling voters, depending on the number of mobile polling teams.

In addition to what is carried out at an ordinary polling station, before issuing a ballot paper to a voter, the election official will:

1. call out the electoral division and polling district (followed by voter’s serial number and name) according to the register; and
2. write the voter’s polling district (followed by voter’s serial number) on the counterfoil of the ballot paper.

A voter can only vote once. He may vote at the special polling station or at his allotted polling station indicated in the poll card. If the voter chooses to vote at his allotted polling station, the election official will request the voter to make a declaration using the Declaration by Voter form to declare that he has not voted at the election.

The Returning Officer may authorise a nursing home staff to be admitted to the polling places in the special polling station; be present when a mobile polling team visits a voter at his bed to take his vote to assist in the preparation of the voter; or provide nursing care or emergency assistance to a voter or any other person who may be present at the special polling station.

Voting by attendance in person at polling place(s)

The steps for voting by attendance in person at polling place(s) in special polling stations are similar to voting at ordinary polling stations in Singapore.

Mobile polling

An advance party comprising a nursing home staff and an election official will prepare the voter for registration. The nursing home staff in the advance party and a voter’s visitor (if present) can assist the voter to get ready the original NRIC or passport and poll card and assist him to sit up on the bed. The nursing home staff and the voter’s visitor will be required to move away when the voter is ready to vote and may return after the mobile polling team leaves.

If the voter is sleeping, the nursing home staff will try to wake him up. If the voter is not at his bed, the advance party will leave a note at the voter’s bed indicating that the mobile polling team had come by when he was not around and the mobile polling team will return at an indicated time range for him to cast his vote. The advance party will return to the voter after going to all identified voters. If by the third time, the voter is still not at his bed, the advance party will notify the mobile polling team. The mobile polling team will inform the candidates or polling agents present that the mobile polling team will not be returning to the voter’s bed for him to cast his vote.

If the voter is unable to identify himself, is not responsive or indicates that he does not want to vote; the candidates and polling agents present will be informed by the mobile polling team and a ballot paper will not be issued. If the voter is responsive and indicates that he wishes to vote, he will be issued with a ballot paper and he can proceed to vote.

The failure by a mobile polling team to make a visit to an elector to take his vote does not in itself invalidate the result of the election.

Sealing of the ballot boxes at the close of the poll for both types of polling will be carried out at the same time at the special polling station in the presence of candidates or polling agents. The election official will seal both slits of the ballot boxes and invite candidates or their polling agents (where present) to sign or affix their own seals on the ballot box.

Observing the process to transport sealed ballot boxes from the special polling stations to the counting centre

There will be one counting centre for the counting of votes cast at special polling stations.

Only one person per candidate is allowed to board the vehicle to observe the transportation process. The candidate will have priority over his polling agent. If the vehicle is transporting ballot boxes from more than one special polling station, the polling agents representing the same candidate have to decide among themselves who should board the vehicle.

The person observing the transportation process must inform the election official at the special polling station in advance and complete and sign an Indemnity Form for Participation in Observing the Transportation of Sealed Ballot Boxes before 6 pm on Polling Day. He should be present and ready to board the vehicle after the ballot boxes are sealed and not delay the transportation process. The vehicle will not wait for the candidate or polling agent who is late even if he has submitted his Indemnity Form earlier. If there is already one polling agent representing the candidate on the vehicle, any other polling agent representing the same candidate will not be allowed to board.

Singaporeans residing overseas who have successfully registered themselves as overseas voters may cast their votes at designated overseas polling stations or via the postal voting method. Once they are registered as overseas voters who will cast their votes at one of the overseas polling stations, they may cast their votes either at the overseas polling station allotted to them or at their allotted polling station in Singapore, but not at both for the same election.

The hours of poll at overseas polling stations will be no less than four hours and may start in advance of the poll on Polling Day in Singapore. However, an overseas poll must close no later than the close of poll on Polling Day in Singapore.

	POLLING AGENTS

Number of polling agents

For polling overseas, every candidate may appoint one polling agent to be present at each overseas polling station.

The candidate or any of his election agents must submit the full names (as shown in NRIC) and NRIC numbers of the polling agents appointed at each overseas polling station (if any) to the Returning Officer no later than two clear days before the start of the polls at the overseas polling stations. The names of polling agents appointed at respective overseas polling stations may be submitted via Candidate Services.

	FORMS TO PRODUCE BEFORE ENTERING OVERSEAS POLLING STATIONS

Every polling agent must produce a duly completed and signed Oath of Secrecy form and his original NRIC (physical or digital) or valid passport to the election official at the overseas polling station. After checking, the election official will retain the Oath of Secrecy form.

Nominated candidates and their election agents can download the form via Candidate Services. The form in hard copy will also be provided to candidates at the end of nomination proceedings on Nomination Day if the election is contested.

	UNDERSTANDING THE VOTING PROCESS

The voting process at overseas polling stations is similar to the voting process at ordinary polling stations in Singapore. eRegistration devices will also be used at the designated overseas polling stations.

Eligible Singaporeans residing overseas have the option to vote by postal ballot.

Postal voting period starts the day immediately after the Nomination Day and ends on the eve of Polling Day in Singapore.

An overseas voter who has registered as a postal voter may record his vote at the poll either by postal voting, or at his allotted polling station in Singapore, but not at both for the same election.

Overseas Singapore citizens who wish to vote by post must go through the following steps:

1. Apply for postal voting papers to be issued to them by:
1. applying for postal voting papers to be issued in an electronic form via Voter Services.
2. applying, by no later than two days after the Writ of Election has been issued, for postal voting papers to be issued in hard copy by sending an email to the Elections Department at contact@eld.gov.sg or via an application form on Voter Services.
2. If postal voting papers are issued in electronic form, download the postal ballot paper and return envelope and print them on separate pieces of paper (single-side).
3. Mark their vote on the postal ballot paper, fold and insert it in the return envelope, seal and sign on the return envelope.
4. Post the sealed return envelope without delay, and before the end of the postal voting period.

Candidates may refer to the Voting by Post webpage to find out more about the steps involved in the postal voting process.

	MAINTAINING SECRECY OF VOTING

Candidates and polling agents who are present at a polling station must maintain secrecy of voting at all times. They have to take their oaths of secrecy and must give their duly completed and signed Oath of Secrecy forms to the election official before entering the first polling station. In order to allow election officials to focus on the conduct of polling, candidates and polling agents should approach a Justice of the Peace or Commissioner for Oaths beforehand and not approach election officials to assist in the administration of oaths of secrecy for candidates and polling agents.

It is important to bear in mind that before the poll closes, everyone is prohibited (except for purposes authorised by law) from communicating to any person any information as to the name or voter’s serial number on the Register of Electors of any voter, who has or has not been given a ballot paper or voted at that station, or as to the official mark.

Maintaining secrecy in voting at the polling station also means that no person shall try to find out, or to communicate to any person, which candidate a voter in the station is about to vote or has voted for, or the number on the back of the ballot paper given to any voter at the polling station.

	PARKING AND SECURITY ARRANGEMENTS

Candidates are reminded that no parking will be allowed at polling stations unless the vehicle has the appropriate label issued by the Elections Department. Within each closed polling station, e.g. in a school, there will be special drop-off points for vehicles conveying the sick, infirmed or disabled persons. Election officials may allow such vehicles to park within the compounds of the premises. Drivers can approach the election officials for assistance and direction. Police will put in place security measures in and around polling stations. Candidates and polling agents are advised not to bring sharp object(s), flammable liquids or gas, bulky items or big bags.

In general, candidates and voters are advised to take public transport or walk to the polling stations. They should also not loiter around the vicinity of the polling stations without valid reasons.

	ELECTION PASSES

Candidates and polling agents may keep their election passes after the election is over.

Bear in mind that voting is compulsory. As such, it is an offence for candidates and polling agents to dissuade someone from giving his vote at an election.

Candidates and polling agents must wear their election passes at all times while in any polling station. However, only the candidate will be allowed to wear his symbol at the polling stations.

The sealing of ballot boxes at the opening of the poll and at the close of the poll may be witnessed by candidates and their polling agents, but their attendance at these proceedings is not compulsory under the law. In order to ensure that polling and counting start on time without delay, election officials can and will proceed with the sealing of ballot boxes even if the candidates or their polling agents are absent. Hence, candidates and polling agents should take note of the time that the sealing of ballot boxes will take place (i.e. 10 minutes before the start of the poll, and at the close of the poll). They must be punctual if they wish to observe the sealing of the ballot boxes.

Polling agents, who want to keep track as to who has voted, should pay close attention when election officials are reading out the particulars of the voters. Polling agents are not allowed to compare their copies of the registers against the records of attendance in the eRegistration devices to confirm the voters who have or have not voted.

A polling agent who needs to leave the polling station must leave his copy of the Register of Electors at that polling station. This is to ensure that information of any voter on the Register of Electors and information on who has or has not been given a ballot paper or voted at that station are not divulged.

A candidate or a polling agent authorised to be in attendance at a polling station may, before the poll closes, ask an election official for the total number of voters who have voted at the polling station. However, the election official has the discretion to decide whether he can accede to the request for information; the election official will try his best to answer but his priority under the law remains to ensure the continuous and orderly conduct of the poll at the polling station.

At the close of the poll, candidates and their polling agents may observe the packing of election materials into envelopes and bags and affix their seals or sign on the envelopes and bags if they wish to do so. They may also affix their seals or sign on the ballot boxes after the election officials have completed sealing of the ballot boxes at the close of the poll. However, candidates and their polling agents must be careful not to paste over the Returning Officer’s seals or damage the Returning Officer’s seals in the process.