Singapore legislation
Section 22
Section 22
Admittance to polling station
(1)
Subject to subsection (2) but without affecting section 52 (on plural voting), a person must not be admitted —
to an ordinary polling station to vote in person at an election unless the person is allotted under section 18(1)(c) to that ordinary polling station;
to an overseas polling station to vote in person at an election unless the person —
is registered as an overseas elector;
is not designated under section 13A(3A) of the Parliamentary Elections Act 1954 as a postal voter for that election; and
is allotted under section 13A(3A) of the Parliamentary Elections Act 1954 to that overseas polling station; or
to a special polling station to vote in person at an election unless the person is allotted under section 30B(1) to that special polling station.
(2)
Where an elector for any electoral division is employed as a presiding officer, police officer, or in any other official capacity at an ordinary polling station or a special polling station, and it is inconvenient for him or her to vote at the ordinary polling station which has been allotted to him or her, the Returning Officer may, by a certificate authorise the elector to vote at any other polling station and that other polling station is deemed, for the purposes of this section, to be the polling station allotted to that elector.
(3)
The certificate mentioned in subsection (2) must be given under the hand of the Returning Officer and must state the name of the elector, the elector’s number, and description in the register of electors, and the fact that the elector is so employed as a presiding officer, police officer or in any other official capacity at a polling station.
(3A)
[Deleted by Act 9 of 2023 wef 01/06/2023]
(4)
Unless the Returning Officer, by notification in the Gazette under this section or section 33C(3)(b), appoints any other hour, the poll must open at 8 a.m. on the day appointed under section 16(5) and must close at 8 p.m. on that day.
(5)
The presiding officer must —
keep order in his or her polling station;
regulate the number of voters to be admitted at a time; and
exclude all other persons except the candidates, the polling agents admitted to the polling station under this section, the Returning Officer and persons authorised in writing by the Returning Officer, the police officers on duty and other persons officially employed at the polling station.
(6)
The number of polling agents of each candidate that may be admitted to a polling station must not exceed the number calculated in the prescribed manner.
(7)
A polling agent whose name has not been notified to the presiding officer as required by section 45(1B) must not be admitted to a polling station.
(8)
If any person misconducts himself or herself in a polling station or fails to obey the lawful orders of the presiding officer, that person may immediately by order of the presiding officer be removed from the polling station by any police officer in or near that station or by any other person authorised in writing by the presiding officer or by the Returning Officer to remove that person.
(9)
The person removed under subsection (8) must not, unless with the permission of the presiding officer, again be allowed to enter the polling station.
(10)
Any person removed under subsection (8) may, if charged with the commission in a polling station of any offence, be kept in custody until he or she can be brought before a magistrate.
(11)
The powers conferred by this section must not be exercised so as to prevent any elector who is otherwise entitled to vote at any polling station from having an opportunity of voting at that station.