Chan Chun Sing on ensuring smooth voting with e-registration system

There was an average loss of 30 per cent in device connectivity in the first hour of polling on Sep 1 for the Presidential Election. This was reduced to 16 per cent by 10am. There was no evidence that it was caused by cyberattacks. Instead, this could have been partly caused by the surge in the volume of transactions during the morning peak, when about 52 per cent of voters had cast their ballot in the first four hours, compared with 32 per cent in General Election 2020 (GE2020). Minister-in-charge of the Public Service Chan Chun Sing shared these preliminary findings in reply to questions from MPs in Parliament on Tuesday (Sep 19). He said for Presidential Election 2023 (PE2023), the Elections Department (ELD) had aimed to reduce queues and waiting times. It increased the number of polling stations by 15 per cent to 1,264 stations, from 1,097 stations in GE2020. This reduced the average number of voters assigned to a polling station - from about 2,400 voters in GE2020 to 2,150 in PE2023. Each polling station had more e-registration devices of between two and four, proportionate to the number of voters in the polling stations, with a spare device each for contingency. Mr Chan said election officials adapted quickly and switched to hard copy registers. As a result, by 9.55am on Polling Day for PE2023, ELD had reported that queues had improved at most stations. Mr Chan said the electronic registration system seeks to reduce waiting times and automate attendance-taking. ELD will continue to enhance the system so that the registration data is captured swiftly and accurately, he added.