Phasing Out Announcement of Names and Registration Numbers of Voters on Polling Day

1 Mr Png Eng Huat asked the Prime Minister whether the practice of announcing the names and registration numbers of voters on polling day will be phased out under the e-registration system since verification can be done discreetly on screen in a multi-lingual format for both voters and polling agents alike.

Mr Chan Chun Sing (for the Prime Minister): Under the Parliamentary Elections Act, the voter’s name and serial number as stated in the register of electors must be called out by election officials, immediately before the ballot paper is issued to the voter. This allows the polling agents present to check against their own copies of registers and verify that the voter is eligible to vote at the polling station. This is separate from the e-registration process and ensures that only voters who are assigned to vote at the specific polling station are issued with ballot papers. There is no plan to change this after the implementation of e-registration.