Presidential Elections (Special Polling Arrangements for Nursing Homes) Regulations 2023

In these Regulations —

For the purposes of these Regulations, the lists of mobile polling electors and nursing home electors include copies of those lists.

The Returning Officer must prepare or cause to be prepared, in accordance with this Division, the following lists for each special polling station established in a nursing home:

For the purposes of paragraph (1), the Returning Officer may request the operator of the nursing home to provide, within a specified time, information about the electors who are in‑patients or residents of the nursing home during the election period of the election.

The operator of the nursing home must provide the requested information within the specified time.

The principal list of nursing home electors for a special polling station must state the number, name and description of every nursing home elector who is allotted to the special polling station.

The numbers, names and descriptions of those electors must be —

The principal list of nursing home electors must be certified as accurate by the Registration Officer no later than 2 clear days after the issuance of a writ under section 6 of the Act.

This regulation applies if the Returning Officer is informed by the operator of a nursing home where a special polling station is established that one or more electors have become in‑patients or residents of the nursing home during the period —

The Returning Officer must allot those electors to the special polling station.

A supplementary list of nursing home electors for the special polling station must be prepared, stating the number, name and description of every elector allotted under paragraph (2).

The numbers, names and descriptions of those electors must be —

A supplementary list of nursing home electors must be certified as accurate by the Registration Officer on or before the eve of polling day.

A principal list of mobile polling electors must be prepared for a special polling station if the Returning Officer authorises one or more mobile polling teams to be deployed to the special polling station.

The principal list of mobile polling electors must state the number, name, description and ward of every nursing home elector who —

The numbers, names and descriptions of those electors are to be taken from the list of nursing home electors for the special polling station.

The principal list of mobile polling electors must be certified as accurate by the Registration Officer on or before the eve of polling day.

One or more supplementary lists of mobile polling electors must be prepared for a special polling station if, on polling day, the Returning Officer identifies one or more additional nursing home electors allotted to that station as eligible to have their votes taken by a mobile polling team.

The numbers, names and descriptions of those electors identified under paragraph (1) are to be taken from the list of nursing home electors for the special polling station.

A supplementary list of mobile polling electors must also state the ward of every elector identified under paragraph (1).

A supplementary list of mobile voting electors must be certified as accurate by the Registration Officer no later than one hour before the end of the hours of the poll at that special polling station.

If a candidate or his or her polling agent attends at a special polling station on polling day, a copy of each of the following must be provided to the candidate or his or her polling agent (as the case may be) before the start of the hours of the poll at the special polling station:

In addition, a copy of every supplementary list of mobile polling electors for that special polling station must be provided to the candidate or his or her polling agent in attendance at the special polling station —

Only a polling agent who is authorised to be admitted to a special polling station under regulation 12 is entitled to be provided a copy of the lists under paragraphs (1) and (2).

A candidate or his or her polling agent must return any list provided under this regulation to a presiding officer of the special polling station before the end of the hours of the poll at that station.

An individual may record his or her vote by attending in person at a polling place of a special polling station only if the individual is on the list of nursing home electors for that special polling station.

An individual may have his or her vote taken by a mobile polling team deployed at a special polling station only if he or she is on the list of mobile polling electors for that special polling station.

This regulation does not affect the operation of section 22(2), 30B(2) or 52 of the Act.

For the purposes of section 30C(1)(c) of the Act, the maximum number of polling agents who may be admitted to a special polling station is as follows:

A polling agent of a candidate must not be admitted to a special polling station unless the candidate or the candidate’s principal election agent or election agent provides the following information in writing to the Returning Officer no later than 2 clear days before polling day:

Section 45(1B) of the Act does not apply in relation to the admission of a polling agent of a candidate to a special polling station.

For the purpose of section 30C(1)(d) of the Act, the Returning Officer may authorise an individual employed by a nursing home (whether or not the individual is a citizen of Singapore) where a special polling station is established —

An authorised individual mentioned in paragraph (1) must not remain with a nursing home elector (including a mobile polling elector) from the time the elector receives his or her ballot paper to the time the elector records his or her vote and places the ballot paper into the ballot box.

Subject to this regulation, a person who is not an in‑patient or a resident of a nursing home where a special polling station is established may enter and remain at the premises of the nursing home during the hours of the poll to visit an in‑patient or a resident of the nursing home.

Paragraph (1) does not affect the visiting policy of the nursing home.

The Assistant Returning Officer for the special polling station may impose operational requirements to ensure the safe, orderly, efficient and timely conduct of the poll.

A visitor to the nursing home must not —

The Returning Officer must deliver to each special polling station —

The materials and instructions must be delivered to the Assistant Returning Officer for the special polling station at any time —

Without limiting paragraph (1)(a), the following election materials must be delivered:

Section 24(2), (3) and (4) of the Act does not apply in relation to ballot boxes used in special polling stations.

Immediately before the commencement of the poll under Part 3, a presiding officer at a special polling station must do the following at a polling place that is specified by the Assistant Returning Officer for the special polling station and in full view of the candidates or their polling agents who are present:

The sealed or locked ballot boxes allocated for the purpose of the poll under Part 3 —

The sealed or locked ballot boxes that are allocated for mobile polling must be kept in full view of the presiding officer at the polling place mentioned in paragraph (2) until they are deployed for use by a mobile polling team under Part 4.

Paragraph (2) and paragraph (3) or (4) (as the case may be) apply to every ballot box used at a special polling station, and it is sufficient compliance with those paragraphs if a ballot box, other than one used at the commencement of a poll, is shown and sealed or locked in accordance with paragraph (2) before it is used.

The application of sections 25, 27, 28, 29 and 30 of the Act to a poll and voting at a special polling station is subject to the following modifications:

The guidance notice mentioned in paragraph (1)(e) must contain the matters set out in Part 1 of the Schedule.

A mobile polling team is to consist of —

An individual must not be appointed under paragraph (1) unless the individual is also eligible to be appointed under section 19(1) of the Act as a presiding officer for an ordinary polling station.

The leader of a mobile polling team deployed to a special polling station must exercise general supervision over the team, and over all arrangements for the conduct of the poll in accordance with this Part, at that special polling station.

The functions of a mobile polling team in these Regulations may be performed by the leader or any other member of the team.

A presiding officer for a special polling station must distribute a guidance notice to each elector whose name appears on the list of mobile electors for that station.

The guidance notice must include the matters set out in Part 2 of the Schedule in English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil.

In the case of an elector whose name appears on the principal list of mobile electors, the guidance notice must be distributed on or before the eve of polling day.

In the case of an elector whose name appears on a supplementary list of mobile electors, the guidance notice must, as soon as practicable after the list is certified as accurate under regulation 8(4), be distributed to the elector.

In all cases, the guidance notice must be distributed in a way that is reasonable in the circumstances.

The Assistant Returning Officer for a special polling station established in a nursing home must, as soon as practicable and no later than 30 minutes before the start of the hours of the poll at that station —

The following provisions apply to the time at which mobile polling starts at a special polling station:

When the ballot boxes that are sealed or locked under regulation 18 are deployed for use by a mobile polling team, the team must bring the sealed or locked ballot boxes, in full view of all candidates or their polling agents that are present, to the wards of the mobile polling electors.

The mobile polling team must ensure that the ballot boxes remain sealed or locked until the close of the poll at the special polling station.

For the purposes of this regulation, if there are 2 or more mobile polling teams deployed to a special polling station, each mobile polling team is responsible for the ballot boxes and mobile polling electors allocated to it.

Section 25(2) to (9) of the Act does not apply.

When visiting an individual at his or her ward to take his or her vote, the mobile polling team must have a ballot box, ballot papers and any other necessary thing.

A mobile polling team must substantially comply with the following requirements when it arrives to take the vote of an individual at a special polling station: (a)the team must, when approaching the individual —

Immediately after receiving a ballot paper for an election under paragraph (3)(d) and any explanation under paragraph (3)(e), the mobile polling elector must do the following:

If a mobile polling elector is unable to vote in the manner mentioned in paragraph (4) by reason of blindness or other physical disability, he or she may apply to the mobile polling team to do so on his or her behalf.

Upon an application by a mobile polling elector under paragraph (5), the mobile polling team must mark on the elector’s ballot paper in the manner directed by the elector, taking the steps mentioned in paragraph (4).

The mobile polling team must without delay leave the ward of the mobile polling elector after the mobile polling elector or the team (as the case may be) has carried out the steps mentioned in paragraph (4).

Subject to paragraph (9), in a case mentioned in paragraph (3)(a)(iii), the team must visit the individual at the approximate time indicated in the written notice and follow the requirements in paragraph (3).

A mobile polling team may only visit an individual 3 times to take his or her vote, and if the individual is not at his or her ward on the third visit, the team must inform the candidates and their polling agents who are present that the mobile polling team will not visit the mobile polling elector again to take his or her vote.

When a mobile polling team is at the ward of a mobile polling elector to take his or her vote for the purposes of, and in connection with, the taking of votes under this Part —

Section 30 of the Act does not apply.

The mobile polling team at a special polling station must not, after the hour fixed for the closing of the poll at the special polling station, deliver any ballot papers or otherwise continue with mobile polling.

However, if at the hour fixed for the closing of the poll at a special polling station, a ballot paper has been delivered to a mobile polling elector who has not yet indicated that he or she has finished voting, the elector must be allowed to record his or her vote and insert that ballot paper into the ballot box brought by the mobile polling team for this purpose.

At the end of the last visit made by a mobile polling team for the purposes of this Part, the leader must, in the presence of any other member of the team, and the candidates and their polling agents who are present, publicly close, fasten, seal and take charge of each ballot box used by the team.

If the mobile polling team completes its last visit before polling under Part 3 is complete, the team must —

Section 31 of the Act does not apply in relation to special polling stations.

As soon as practicable after the close of the poll at a special polling station, every presiding officer of the special polling station must, in the presence of the candidates and their polling agents who are present —

All ballot boxes within the special polling station must remain unopened and must be secured by the Assistant Returning Officer or a senior presiding officer for that station and sealed with —

Every ballot box used in a special polling station, including any ballot box used for mobile polling, must be sealed under paragraph (3) at the same time.

The Assistant Returning Officer or senior presiding officer for a special polling station must without delay despatch every packet mentioned in paragraph (2) and the sealed ballot boxes mentioned in paragraph (3) in safe custody to the counting place for votes cast at the special polling station by such means approved by the Returning Officer.

The application of section 32 of the Act to the counting of the votes cast at a special polling station is subject to the modifications in this regulation.

For the purposes of expediting the counting of the votes cast at a special polling station in the election —

Before the Returning Officer proceeds to count each batch of votes, the Returning Officer or a person authorised by the Returning Officer must, in the presence of the candidates and their counting agents who are in attendance, open all the ballot boxes to be counted in that batch and, taking out the papers in each ballot box, mix together all the ballot papers contained in the ballot boxes.

Immediately after the counting of votes cast at special polling stations is completed at a counting place, the Returning Officer or a person authorised by the Returning Officer must —