Special polling arrangements at nursing homes to be discontinued for coming GE: ELD
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ELD said feedback from election officials was that many of the nursing home residents did not understand why they were voting.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
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SINGAPORE - Special arrangements piloted in the 2023 Presidential Election to help less-mobile seniors vote at nursing homes will be discontinued, said the Elections Department (ELD) in a statement on Oct 15.
This comes after it reviewed the pilot, and in the light of the added operational complexities to implement such arrangements for a general election. Nursing home residents can continue to vote at their allocated polling stations.
In 2023, polling stations were set up for the first time at 31 nursing homes
Mobile polling teams also went to the bedside of bedridden residents to help them to vote. The pilot benefited 4,087 voters.
ELD said feedback from election officials and political party representatives was that many of the nursing home residents did not understand why they were voting nor the significance of their votes.
Consequently, 15 per cent of the votes cast at nursing homes were rejected, primarily due to blank votes. This compares with 2 per cent of votes rejected generally, said ELD.
There were concerns that voting secrecy could be compromised even though certain measures were taken, given the close proximity of the beds to one another.
These included providing portable lap booths that shielded the front and sides of the table when voters marked their ballot papers and requiring all election officials to step away as the voters did so.
The pilot was operationally challenging and resource-intensive, said ELD.
About 20 election officials were deployed in each nursing home to serve about 300 or fewer voters. At ordinary polling stations, a similar number of election officials serve between 2,501 and 3,000 voters.
About 300 nursing home staff members assisted with the special polling arrangements. Some nursing home operators gave feedback to ELD that this placed additional demands on the staff, on top of their core duties of caring for residents.
“In view of the above and given the added operational complexities to implement special polling arrangements in a general election, ELD will not continue the special polling arrangements at nursing homes beyond the pilot,” said ELD.
Operators told ST that nursing home residents benefited from the special polling arrangement during the 2023 Presidential Election, but noted its logistical challenges.
Mr Ardi S. Hardjoe, chief executive of the Thye Hua Kwan Nursing Home, which participated in the pilot, said the cessation of the special polling arrangement was sad as it would prevent bedridden residents from voting.
“It gave the least mobile and those who are quite unwell a chance to exercise their rights as citizens,” he said.
Around 60 to 80 out of about 285 residents at THK Nursing Home @ Hougang participated in the pilot and the process went smoothly, with voting completed in under three hours, he said. But there were challenges, such as having to wait for those undergoing dialysis to return to the nursing home to vote.
Mr Ardi noted that a general election will be more complex, with residents coming from many different constituencies and multiple seats being contested.
Sree Narayana Mission (Singapore) (SNM) chief executive S. Devendran said its nursing home SNM Nursing Home @ Chong Pang mobilised off-duty staff who live in the nursing home dormitory during the pilot, so that staff on duty could continue managing the wards.
Around 80 residents, including 18 bed-bound ones, voted in the presidential election.
“For those who had the mental capacity to vote, it was straightforward,” he said. “They were satisfied that their choice was confidential.”
NTUC Health’s deputy head of residential care Chong Wai Fung said while three in four residents can vote at polling stations close to their nursing homes, some will need to travel further because their registered home address is not near the nursing homes. “NTUC Health will work closely with the relevant authorities for support to ensure every resident who wishes to vote can do so,” she said.
Operators said the families of the residents can take them out to vote for the general election, and the nursing homes will make arrangements for those without family to vote as well, as they have done for previous elections.
“This is the unseen work which makes residents happy. When elections are coming up, they’ll ask about the arrangements for them to go out and vote,” said Mr Ardi. “They look forward to it – it makes them feel more alive.”
