Overseas ballot: Elections Dept replies

We thank Mr Wen Khai Meng for his suggestion on overseas ballots ("Let overseas ballot be cast earlier"; last Wednesday).

Overseas polling is not carried out earlier to provide overseas electors sufficient time to assess the candidates during the campaign period and make an informed decision.

Generally, the number of overseas votes is small, with about 4,000 registered overseas electors currently.

The current practice of pooling all overseas votes cast for the same constituency back in Singapore after Polling Day and counting them together thus ensures that all votes are kept secret.

Ooi Ming Lee (Ms)

Lead Manager, Political Donations and Communications

Elections Department

This article was first published on Aug 24, 2015.
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