SINGAPORE - Residents of more than 4,800 households in Tanjong Pagar have received two poll cards for the upcoming presidential election due to an error made by the appointed printer.

The Elections Department (ELD) said in a statement on Thursday that the printer, Toppan, had erroneously sent out test prints of poll cards together with the correct poll cards to a total of 4,803 households – with 9,822 voters – in Tanjong Pagar GRC.

Of these 9,822 individuals, 9,354 received two poll cards with different voter serial numbers. The remaining 468 voters received two poll cards with identical information.

The affected voters are assigned to cast their ballots at St Margaret’s School, Tanglin Community Club, Farrer Park Primary School and Delta Sport Hall polling stations within Tanjong Pagar GRC.

ELD said it would like to assure Singaporeans that processes are in place to ensure that those with two cards will be able to vote only once at the correct polling station.

This is because voters will need to produce their NRIC, which will be verified against the polling station register.

The department said it had received feedback from some voters who were given the extra cards. It is reaching out to affected voters to inform them of their correct voter serial number, it added.

Voters can also obtain the correct details from their ePoll cards on Singpass, which are accurate and unaffected by this printing error.

They can then dispose of the erroneous or duplicate poll card. Affected voters can also call 1800-225-5353 if they require assistance.

ELD apologised for the confusion caused.

Civil servant T. Wong, a Tiong Bahru resident who declined to give his full name, said he was shocked to see two cards in his letter box on Thursday morning.

The 56-year-old said he wondered which was the right one and was concerned that if he used the wrong card on Polling Day, he could be accused of not voting.

He later checked his Singpass and ascertained which was the right serial number.

As at Thursday noon, he has not heard from ELD.

Voter serial number meant to protect electoral integrity

Many voters here would have already received their poll cards via post. The cards were sent to the addresses voters registered with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority two to three days after Nomination Day, which was on Tuesday.

Every voter is assigned a serial number. This is meant to protect the integrity of the electoral process, according to an article on gov.sg published on Aug 15.

It enables accounting of all ballot papers issued and cast, and safeguards against counterfeiting and voter impersonation, it said.

The article said calling out the serial number and name allows voters to acknowledge that they have been correctly identified, and makes the proceedings more transparent to polling agents who are representing their candidates to observe the proceedings.

The votes of individuals are still secret, it added.

On Polling Day, when a ballot paper is issued to a voter, the serial number is written on the ballot paper counterfoil to facilitate vote tracing if necessary.

This process is allowed only if there is a court order arising from an election petition, and the court is satisfied that votes had been fraudulently cast, affecting the result of the election.