Many Singaporeans harbour the misconception that their vote during elections is not secret. I’ve talked to many people, both educated and less educated, and the overwhelming majority seem to think this way. This is despite the fact that at every election, the Elections Department takes pains to communicate to voters two main points: Voting is compulsory, and voting is secret. I guess this is a point that Singaporeans just refuse to believe our government about.
It is even more unfortunate that some persist in perpetuating this urban myth, which only serves to strike more fear into the hearts of Singaporeans who are thinking of voting for the opposition. A letter in Temasek Review today exhorted Singaporeans to spoil their votes because, the writer reasoned, then the PAP won’t “mark” you for voting against them and if there are enough invalid votes, it will indirectly increase the opposition’s share of the valid vote.
This is wrong on many counts. I’ll highlight just two: Firstly, the PAP does not know which party you voted for, so they won’t know who to “mark”, even if they wanted to. Secondly, invalid votes do not factor in the final count, which is based on valid votes. This means that if there were 10 votes–six for the PAP, three for the opposition and one spoiled–the final tally is 66.6 per cent to the PAP (six divided by nine, with the spoiled vote excluded), not 60 per cent.
Let’s be very clear: YOUR VOTE IS SECRET. I will take you through the whole balloting process to see why:
1. On Polling Day, each voter at the polling station is issued a ballot paper without his name on it. (I’ll talk about the serial numbers later.) He/she marks the ballot paper in a booth out of sight of anyone else. No cameras are permitted in the polling station so there is no way to observe how voters vote. The voter then folds up the paper and drops it in the ballot box. Throughout the day, counting agents from each party are at the polling station to ensure the ballot boxes are not opened.
2. At the close of polling, usually at 8pm on the same day, the ballot boxes are sealed with tamper-proof seals (which are signed over by the candidates) and transported to the Counting Centre.
3. At the Counting Centre, the ballot boxes from the polling stations are unsealed in the presence of the candidates and their assistants and emptied in a common heap. The election officials (who are civil servants) then count the votes in full view of the candidates from all contesting parties, who ensure that the votes are counted properly and the election officials follow all the rules.
4. Immediately after counting, the votes, together with all the relevant records, the stubs of the ballot papers and any unused ballot papers are sealed in the boxes (again with tamper-proof seals) and transported to the Supreme Court vault for storage.
5. Six months later, if there are no disputes over the outcome of the election, the sealed boxes are transported to the incineration plant, where, in the presence of all the candidates (including the losers), the votes and records are completely destroyed by fire.
As you can see from above, at no point are the boxes opened without the candidates or representatives from all the contesting parties being present.
Frequently asked questions
Q. What about the serial numbers on the ballot papers?
This is a safeguard against election fraud such as bringing counterfeit ballot papers into the polling station, voter impersonation or casting ballot papers which have been marked by others. Many other countries, including the UK, have numbered ballot papers. As explained above, there is no opportunity for the election officials or candidates to peek at the votes and match them against the electoral roll. Remember there are no names on the voting slips, and if one wanted to match the serial numbers, one would have to sift through a huge list of thousands of voters in full view of the candidates.
It is possible, though, that in the event of a disputed outcome, the courts could order that the boxes be taken out of storage and the votes recounted. However this would again be done in full view of the candidates. In any case, there has been no court order issued to retrieve votes since Singapore first conducted elections in 1948.
Q. Why does the election official call out my name and voter number at the polling station before giving me the ballot paper?
So as to enable the representatives of contesting political parties at the polling station to verify and cross out your name on their copies of the electoral register. They will know you voted, but won’t know who you voted for.
Q. After elections, some politicians say certain blocks supported the ruling party or opposition. Does it mean they know my vote?
Nobody knows how each individual voted. Each polling station serves about 10 to 20 blocks of flats or a few landed housing estates. They may know the aggregated number from each polling district, but not the individual votes.
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In summary, I emphasise again that voting is secret. So come the next elections, vote with your conscience, not with fear!
I’ve heard about people who cast a null n void vote (e.g., by crossing both boxes representing both contesting parties), and subsequently receiving letters telling them that they should not be doing such.
More than 1 person did that and they all got the same letters. How do you explain that then?
@Yong You ‘heard’. The whole point of the article is to debunk hearsay. *Hearsay*.
So unless you can produce the letter in question, its all hearsay.
Agree with Jason. I have also “heard” many such horror stories but never once have I seen proof of it – at all.
If these people which Yong said received “letters telling them that they should not be doing such”, then perhaps they should produce these letters for all to see.
Otherwise, we should stop propagating such fears and spend our time encouraging others to vote courageously instead.
My teacher friend who was trained by election dept to help out during elections said the trainer told them they know who voted and for who.
Why wld they stoop so low?
What is tamper proof seal? Can the election official open the boxes at a later date, look at the votes, then re-seal back?
I believe that the ruling party does not bother to scrutinize how one chooses to vote.
But its true when they are able to tell within a very significant accuracy which blocks had a higher percentage of voters for the opposition. This is enough for them to determine policies for the estate.
The common heap.. that only takes place sometimes in counting areas where the opposition is able to put their own observers. In other places where there are none, its pretty much a case of opening the ballot box and counting.
The way they segregate the voters and the ballot boxes in which these votes are cast can tell quite accurately even within an estate which blocks of flats are pro PAP or opposition. The only way is to have a row of unmarked ballot boxes from which voters can randomly choose where to deposit their votes in.
i would encourage Gerald giam to post this article to TR (they will publish it despite of their anti-WP stance as its their policy to publish any article) to counter the article calling for void votes. TR has a larger audience than this site.
on another matter,is robert ho’s claims abt votes being brought from outside during 1997 cheng san true or not? since low TK was a member of WP then,perhaps he could shed some light on this
The vote is secret. The serial number of the ballot prevents fraud.
I am sceptical. Sure, the government has little reason to peek at individual votes. That’s common sense.
But, it’s not inconceivable that they can find out who you voted for, if they really want to. No system is so foolproof, it cannot be gamed.
Here are pertinent questions:
1. What is a tamper-proof seal? It is a atomic-bomb proof device that would not break?
2. Ballot boxes are stored in the Supreme Court vault? So, who has the secret second key?
3. I find the need for serial number on ballot papers unconvincing. Couldn’t an alternative system that is as good against fraud be devised?
I voted twice. first i spoiled the vote by crossing both box, i did not received any letter. the second time i voted for the opposition, and i was a civil servant then.
@ Skeptical
The serial no. at the moment is the best anti-fraud mechanism. How else would anyone stop PAP from faking votes to ensure it’s total dominance?
I’m surprised that most people think that the serial no. is there for the PAP’s sake rather than thinking on more neutral grounds – that it is a mechanism to prevent any party from faking votes or astroturfing.
Of course, it is not inconceivable that PAP can find out who you vote for, if they really want to. But you got to question if the PAP have any motivation to do so in the first place. Simply put – it is not easy to track, first they need to know your IC, match it to the serial no. of your voting slip, then find THAT among the million other voting slips. Even if they know, what can they do? Tell your boss to sack you? Make you disappear? It is not worth the effort to fix a small fry.
The teachers are trained by the Election Dept to go spread fear to their students since the students do not know how to judge and refute what the teacher had said. Our education system is not like the West where the student can rebuke their teachers. In turn the students go back and spead the fear to their parents and that is how the fear propagates.
Thus we need the student to be aware of this and rebuke the teacher when they tries to spread fear by asking these 2 simple questions:
1. How?
2. Got evidence?
Rainnix, I find your comment highly ironical.
You are making assumptions about the role of teachers. Do you know what happen during the training sessions that the Election Department conduct? Do you have access to their training manuals? Are you a teacher? Are you a teacher who is selected to be an election official?
We need a critical citizenry to see a change in our political landscape, not a citizenry that spreads such assumptions. Having a citizenry which is quick to generalise only retards Singapore’s political progress.
In response to your comment, I will post the same questions you posted:
1. How?
2. Got evidence?
You mentioned that. “10 votes–six for the PAP, three for the opposition and one spoiled–the final tally is 66.6 per cent to the PAP (six divided by nine, with the spoiled vote excluded), not 60 per cent.”
The logic is flawed, because we won’t know if how the spoiled vote will lean towards, if instead they voted for the PAP (due to fear),that will make the final tally 70% for PAP.
@Yong those are just generic letters sent out to everyone. Why would the Elections Department be so stupid as to reveal that the vote is not secret (even if it isn’t)? That will just quash any legitimacy of the PAP won’t it?
@ben, a lot of people have the misimpression that voting is not secret. This trainer is probably one of them.
@Lee, a tamper proof seal is a special type of sticker that tears when peeled off. As an additional safeguard against someone peeling it off and replacing it with another one, the candidates sign on the sticker itself. They can verify that the seal wasn’t broken when the box is brought out of storage.
@skeptical
1. I’ve already answered above.
2. Even if someone gets into the Supreme Court vault, they still can’t open the boxes without the candidates discovering it later.
3. There are other ways but this is the way it is in Singapore and many other countries. It does not mean that the votes are traced.
@Jeff Pang, a spoiled vote is a spoiled vote. There’s no such thing as a spoiled vote leaning towards the PAP.
Here is the story of my husband. He for the first time voted on 2006 GE GRC is Changkat. He chickened out at the polling station after he saw his ic number is tight to the serial number of the voting paper that he got.
Those who are afraid, are afraid. But can I request two things:
1. Don’t spread unsubstantiated rumours or urban myths. Prove what you say with hard evidence, such as scanned letters.
2. If you are afraid to vote against PAP, so be it, but don’t encourage others to do the same.
Regardless of voting secrecy: If you are afraid to vote for whom you want, you deserve whatever you get.
Every election there is about 30% of voters who voted for opposition and I am one of them. Do you ever hear of all these people being identified, targetted or victimised all these years? This alone should debunk any misconception.
I am wondering whether those who harbour such unfounded fear is basically just trying to find an excuse to justify themselves. They are basically pap supporters but cant reconcile the fact that they are so bad hearted as to support a dictatorship, they have to find an excuse for themselves.
Gerald,
Thanks for the brief write up on the election process, it is definitely very informative. I would like to suggest you further simplify the writeup with drawings, flow charts and photos and put it up on WP’s homepage.
The marterial can also be featured in brochures, pamphlets or newsletter that WP publishes. This will help enhance the voter proposition of the party as an organization that is positive, forward looking and assuring.
Let us be realistic, first voting is compulsory in Singapore, however, no voting is required in non-contested constituencies.
Secondly, 33 over percent voted for Oppositions in the Last Election and Potong Pasir and Hougang were won by Opposition Parties. Were they put into jail or charge for voting oppositions??
It is absolutely the Rights of the voters to vote any candidate they choose. If, as rumoured, those who voted against the Ruling Party will be selected for discriminations and disadvantaged after the elections, this country would have been in chaos long ago.
Exercise your Rights as mandated, it’s not as though Singaporeans are democratic to choose not to vote, all fears are groundless and the fear You imagined will caused aberration to your true sentiment.
VOTE WITH YOUR FEELINGS FOR ANY CANDIDATE AND OR PARTY.
patriot
@hellen, there is no need to fear when you see our IC number tied to the serial number. The voting paper itself doesn’t have your IC number, and there is no opportunity for anyone to match the serial number with the ICs, because there is very close oversight by the candidates whenever the ballot boxes are opened.
@Wai Leong, thanks and agree with you.
@omy, lol.
@Tessa, thanks for the suggestion. I have brought it up to my party colleagues. We actually do have a brochure which we’ve been giving out since the last election. If you email me your address, I’ll be happy to mail it to you. gerald.giam{at]gmail.
@patriot, exactly right! Please spread the word!
Would you be able to post your brochure online? Like on Google Docs or a free file hosting or online storage space or perhaps this website for us to download?
@Will.I.Am: You’re not very smart at reconciliation of a serial number to a NRIC number. You start simply by randomly picking ONE ballot who voted the opposition. Taking that serial number and backtrace it. Due to accountability, there is a record of where each block of serial is issued to each specific voting centre. From there you obtain the voting centre’s register and simply scan for the person whom serial number that was issued. Done.
Sorry but until they stop writing the serial number next to a person’s NRIC, it is my opinion that our votes are not secret (or simply not as secret as you think).
One does not need to go after every single person that voted the opposition, you simply pick a few and target them instead. It’s like winning TOTO, just that if you are the winner, you LOSE.
I’m voting for either the SDP or the Reform Party as they have been unequivocal in their backing of LGBT equality. I don’t care if my vote is secret or not.
So far, the Workers’ Party has sidestepped the issue entirely.
@Roy Tan: “I don’t care if my vote is secret or not…”
This is a heartening statement.
Elsewhere, the usual reaction to the notion that ballots are being snooped on would be indignation, not fear.
Check this out to see how Hitler nudged people at the ballot box
http://nudges.org/2010/08/11/the-nazis-nudged/
Heard from an highly educated female friend of mine, there is a story of a civil servant who voted for opposition and after elections, haul up to his manager office and was scolded for not voting the incumbent. She does not like the incumbent also but fears to vote for opposition
When asked when was it, who was it, is it really true? Answer is “I do not know” for all three.
My feelings for this story is fearmonging to influence ppl to vote for the incumbent else they will risk facing the wrath of the incumbent.
If her boss knew about it, it is probably because she opened her big mouth and boasted to her colleagues that she voted for the opposition, not because her ballot was snooped.
In any case, there’s nothing wrong with civil servants voting for the opposition. Civil servants who think it’s wrong need to change their mindset.
Vote according to your conscience.
This is so true. I don’t understand why some Singaporeans have the irrational fear that their votes are tracked. Actually I think in this aspect, the Singapore government has been working pretty hard and have successfully kept the voting clean and corruption free.
Showing the voter that his NRIC is next to his ballot number is a fear mongering tactic.
I suspect this may swing a very significant amount of votes for the incumbent from the Neutrals.
On a separate note. The word ‘Opposition Party’ seem to have negative connotations around here. It’s as if we are supporting a rebellion if we vote for the Opposition. Perhaps ‘New Blood’ or ‘The Challenger’ might make a better collective noun than ‘The Opposition’
Despite a high number of Singaporeans who are educated, I am sad to say that majority of us are unable to think and analyze logically.
From the postings, it is not difficult to find that majority of the Singaporeans have been shackled by the invisible chain called fear – self-fear to be precised. The first step to unlock the chain is to stop reading the local newspaper and stop watching local TV news programmes. The reason is simply because the local newspaper and local TV news programmes are constantly feeding our brain with a lot of shit. This is fatal especially to people who can’t think and analyze logically.
When I voted in 2006 for the Workers Party, I was a trainee teacher about to enter the civil service full-time. Throughout my teaching career I have never felt discriminated against in any way. I was promoted duly and given fair performance appraisals. Towards the end of my teaching bond I was even appointed as an election official, although I will never get to perform in that bureaucratic capacity.
If I had stayed on in the education service I would probably be able to witness the voting process and confirm my belief that voting is truly secret.
(I have heard enough of those fearful remarks, pronounced with iron-clad certainty, about how ‘they’ will mark you, about how civil servants /must/ vote for the PAP. Most of my family members, friends, colleagues, have all said those things. Many people around me don’t even dare mention who they voted for, not least discuss politics, because they (mis)interpret “Voting is secret” to mean that they cannot tell anyone how they voted. I think the phrase is meant to assure the voter that the vote she casts will not be made known to anyone. As long as a voter does not expose her voting slip at the voting booth to the sight of anyone, I think, she can say whatever she likes about voting for any party, because only what is marked on the voting slip counts. Nobody has to believe what she says is how she truly voted. While it is certainly an offence to /actively/ find out how others have voted or intend to vote {see [http://www.elections.gov.sg/voters_dosdonts.html], third “Don’t” from the last}, I believe that as long as you cast your vote in accordance with procedure, it is not an offence to volunteer information about your own political stand.)
It is not surprising that the PAP does not direct the Elections Department to do more to dispel this urban myth (say, mount one of those rather irritating or annoyingly ubiquitous government campaigns). Such a widely-held disbelief in voting secrecy, tragically, works in favour of the PAP.
Now with impending GE,unlike past GEs when many of us did not enjoy our right to vote due to GRC walk-overs, let not FEAR(real or imagined)RULE us anymore!After we have pondered over the candidates, let us vote with a clear conscience for the candidate who loves our little island nation and has the best interests in his heart and who will sacrificailly serve Singapore, even if he is not paid excessive payouts from taxpayer’s money!
How about someone employing magicians at each voting stations to change the votes after the ballot boxes are sealed? I do know, on TV, that magicians can do such amazing feats. :p
Dear fellow Singaporeans, spread this word around that your vote is secret as this irrational fear is keeping worthy opposition candidates out of parliament. WP lost Aljunied GRC by a mere 6% at the last election. I believe a key reason was voters voting by “default”.
Therefore, spread the word. Debunk the myth, especially with your civil servant friends and relatives.
Agree with Gerald. Vote with your conscience. Do not fear too that Singapore will be worst off without the PAP as there are no lack of capable people in Singapore. Most stay away from politics because of the “domineering” behaviour of the PAP. We need to support the opposition to provide a check and balance and to ensure accountability for the policies proposed by the PAP.
Vote wisely my fellow brothers and sisters. Change is at hand and we can make a difference!
Dear fellow Singaporean voters. Do not allow irrational fear consume us anymore! We must ponder over the available candidates in the GE, weather they will or will not serve us, n the we must go n vote with our conscience, for the sake of our island nation’s political future!
Kiasu and kiasi civil servants and employees of government listed would not have the guts to vote for the opposition for FEAR of losing their well-paid salaries,including recent 8 months’ bonus and increased pay adjustment. This is true especially for those in high positions and there is really nothing anyone can do to change their mindset.
we can never dictate how others may choose to think or react over such myths and stigmas but we can certainly do our part by spreading the truth and advocating our beliefs for what we want to see in our beloved country in future. We can persuade and encourage our friends to vote without fear for what they believe in and whom they wish to represent them.
I’ve seen a significant increase in the number of opposition supporters in the last GE and I believe that as more and more Singaporeans cast their votes in favor of the opposition candidates, such myths as the tracking down of votes would be debunked naturally.
I’m also inclined to believe that young voters like me are less likely to be affected by age-old social stigmas like this so hopefully in time to come we can look forward to GEs where the election results are better representations of the residents’ wishes. =))
I sincerely applaud those who have the courage to stand up and fight for the good of the common people, (especially those coming from the opposition) and the LEAST we can do to support deserving candidates in their cause is to cast ANONYMOUS slips of paper in their favor without being swayed by baseless rumors and false claims.
Hi Gerald, thank you so much for posting this. I am a civil servant, and I have also been serving as an election official in past elections. You are right that the serial numbers are controls to prevent fraud (by either party), and the fear of voting freely is quite unfounded.
It is hard for people like me to convince people that their vote is secret, because I will always be seen as “one of them”. I have read your party’s manifesto, and it is the clearest and most down-to-earth one I’ve seen so far, and I wish your team the best for this election. The rest of the opposition manifestos are too vague and full of angry rhetoric or impractical suggestions.
On a separate tangent, a plea to all voters: Please know that the elections officials you see at the polling stations on polling day DO NOT work for the Elections Dept. We also DID NOT volunteer to work as elections officials. We do not draw Minister salaries, and believe it or not, some of us joined the civil service in the belief that positive change can be brought about from the inside. Given a choice, many of us would rather cast our vote and go home.
Like you, we pay taxes. Like you, we served NS and endure traffic jams and ERP. Like you, we struggle to afford HDB flats. Like you, we squeeze on crowded buses and MRT trains and hate it. Like you, we worry if we will have to work until the day we die. Like you, we worry about the kind of Singapore our kids will grow up in.
Like you, we intend to let our voice be heard through our votes. So please try not to yell at the elections officials. We are trying our best to let you vote and go home as quickly as possible.
I think no matter what is said, there’s always some people with different opinions.
For those who persist in “believing” that our votes are not secret because the PAP can trace and then nail them, then these people must think Singapore is a BANANA REPUBLIC!
Yet these same people insist on voting for the yaya-PAPayas.
Have these people gone bananas???
I am a civil servant. I live in Hougang. I have voted for Worker’s Party ALL THE TIME, EVERYTIME in the last elections. I have been promoted from Grade MX 12, to Grade MX 11 after the 2001 elections. And Grade MX 11 to Grade 10, and then Grade 9 after the 2006 elections. So three promotions over 5 years.
IT IS ABSOLUTELY RUBBISH that your vote will be traced. I am living proof of it. I hope people will tell the truth and spread the truth.
Thanks, Muhammad. Do share this more.
dear all, because you are here and reading this, it shows that you care. And because you care, you could make a difference. Your vote does matter and it’s important that you vote with a conscience, and not out of fear, convenience, or blind faith. Regardless of which party, as long as you thought through and have decided that you can entrust the country’s, or even if it’s just your own future to, that, i think is good enough.
Hi Gerald, Thank GOD, that u have greatly re-assured the many easily-frightened voters from voting out of fear, insidiosly cultivated by you know who! Now we will hopefully see the people of Spore vote with their conscience! I will surely give u my vote and will convince my dear 54yr wife to vote for The Workers Party too! So that u guys can be brought into parliament to ask relevant questions which the incumbent ruling party has not been asked for so very long!! Oh i am 66 yrs young!
I am also a civil servant, and so far i have not seen any punishments from my vote for the WP in 2006.
Even if there is, i am more worried for the future of Singapore than any punishments.
I do not understand why are there people spreading that voting oppositions may cause serious trouble? Didn’t the govt say voting is fair, equality, impartial in every GE? Why should we fear because we vote for oppositions? The first time i vote for opposition, This year is my 2nd time i’m voting, i even apply BTO flats with my wife last year & have successfully ballot for a flat together with the housing grant. So how do you prove that? Like what others says above, vote with conscience! Not with fear!!