When elections are held in Singapore, the Elections Department follows the procedures laid out in the law to ensure the integrity of the election.

There is a rigorous process to ensure the security of your vote and voting secrecy at each election. There is no break in the chain of custody of ballot papers from the polling station to the counting centre, and from the counting centre to the Supreme Court where the ballot papers are retained in safe custody for 6 months and then subsequently destroyed.For transparency, the process is open to observation by candidates and their agents who are present.

Previously, used empty ballot boxes were found in a school which served as a counting centre. Following from this incident, there have been questions about the procedures. Here are some facts:

1. What are ballot boxes? 

They are boxes designated and used for the deposit of ballots cast in an election on Polling Day. 

Before polling commences at 8 a.m.

These boxes are marked and are shown to be empty to candidates and their polling agents who are present before they are sealed by election officials at the polling station before the start of the polls on Polling Day.  

After polls close at 8 p.m.

After the polls have closed, election officials at the polling station seal these ballot boxes containing the ballot papers which have been cast.  Candidates and their polling agents who are present witness the process and may also place their own seals on the ballot boxes.  The sealed ballot boxes carried by the election officials are then transported under Police escort to the counting centre.  A police officer is on board the bus used and stands guard over the ballot boxes throughout the journey. 

Counting of votes 

At the counting centre, before the ballot boxes are opened, candidates and their counting agents who are present may inspect all the boxes again to ascertain that all the boxes are accounted for, and that no others are present; and that the seals of all the ballot boxes are intact and have not been tampered with.  The seals are then broken and ballot boxes are opened, and the ballot papers therein are poured out, sorted and counted.  The emptied ballot boxes are ascertained in the presence of all to be empty. 

After annoucement of election results 

After the election result has been announced by the Returning Officer, the ballot papers and other official documents used in the election are placed into separate boxes and sealed, witnessed by candidates and their counting agents who are present, who may also place their own seals on these boxes.  The emptied ballot boxes are put aside with other discarded material to be collected by the Elections Department’s contractor for general disposal.

2. What is the process like? 

3. So why were empty boxes still found? 

The empty ballot boxes set aside at the counting centres are to be disposed of by a contractor appointed by the Elections Department, along with any other items such as lanterns or unused writing material. This should be done the day after Polling Day. Should the contractor be unable to collect all or any of the items on that day, these items are then kept in a storeroom for the contractor to collect at another date.

The discovery of the used empty boxes suggest that there was an oversight by officers involved in the collection of such discarded material after Polling Day. This does not constitute a lapse in the election procedures that ensure the integrity of our election process. The Police investigations also showed that there is no offence disclosed under section 37 of the Presidential Elections Act, which relates to the tampering of ballot boxes before and while in use during the election period.

In order to avoid similar incidents in the future that may cause undue alarm and confusion, the Elections Department will study how to tighten the process of collecting and disposing of such discarded material in a way that is practical and not onerous.

Sources

• Balloting Secrecy
• Answer to Parliamentary Question on Ballot Boxes
  

This article is accurate as of Jan 2014.