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What You Need to Know: Polling Day and Election Campaigning 101
22 January 2025
Commonly asked questions about general elections

Q1) Who can vote?
To be eligible to vote at a contested election, your name must be in the certified Register of Electors for an electoral division (also known as constituency).
Any person who satisfies the qualifying criteria as of the cut-off date for the Registers of Electors will have his name included in the Register for the electoral division.
You can check if your name is in the Registers online at ELD's website using your Singpass, on your Singpass App, at a community centre/club (with your NRIC/passport) or at any of the 10 Singapore overseas missions serving as overseas registration centres (with NRIC/passport).
Q2) I am working on Polling Day. Do I still have to vote?
Polling Day for a General Election and Presidential Election is a public holiday, and polling hours are from 8am to 8pm.
The law requires employers to give employees who are voters, a reasonable amount of time to vote. If you are required to work and your work hours coincide with the polling hours, you should request time-off from your employer.
Voting is also compulsory. If you fail to vote, your name will be taken off the Registers of Electors after the election. If you wish to vote in future elections, you can apply for your name to be restored to the Registers.
Q3) Can I vote if I forgot to bring my poll card to the polling station?
Yes, you can still vote even if you have forgotten to bring your poll card or ePoll card.
Inform the election official at the entrance of the polling station that you did not bring your poll card, and he will direct you to the Enquiry Counter at the polling station to issue you a replacement poll card. You will need to have your NRIC or valid passport with you.
Q4) What are the Dos and Don’ts for Voters on Polling Day?n item
Do
Do check your poll card when you receive it – are your particulars correct? If you have not received your poll card, you can log on to the Elections Department website or access your SingPass app to view your ePoll card. Alternatively, you can visit any community centre/club or ServiceSG Centre to obtain a replacement poll card.
Do go in person to vote.
Do bring your poll card and either your IC or valid Passport as proof of identity.
Do mark your choice using an 'X' on the ballot paper.
DON’T
Don't use your mobile phone in the polling station (except to show the election official your digital NRIC and/or ePoll card when requested).
Don't alter or write on your poll card. If your particulars are incorrect, call the Elections Department for assistance.
Don't help another person to vote – impersonating another voter is an offence!
Don't go to any other polling station except the one stated in your poll card. You can only vote at your assigned polling station.
Don't bring children or pets (except guide dogs) to the polling station.
Travel light – any bag you carry may be subject to security checks. Some items which are prohibited in polling centres are:
Cameras
Video Cameras
Alcohol
Sharp Objects
Campaign Material
Large Bags
Don't bring any document or material, or wear any attire or badge, which is affiliated with a political party or candidate.
Don't sign or write anything on the ballot paper by which you may be identified. If you do, your vote will not be counted.
Don't bring the ballot paper out of the polling station. This is an offence!
Q5) Can I help a physically handicapped family member mark his ballot paper?
Under Singapore’s election law, voting must be done in person and a person’s vote must be secret. Persons with disabilities who are unable to mark the ballot paper themselves can seek assistance from the election officials at the polling station.
Q6) Is campaigning allowed before Nomination Day and can anyone put up traditional election advertising (i.e. non-online election advertising in the form of banners, flags and posters)?
Campaigning may begin only after the close of nomination proceedings on Nomination Day. For campaigning using traditional election advertising, the Returning Officer will issue a permit to authorise candidates and their election agents to display traditional election advertising. No person shall display or cause to be displayed in any public place traditional election advertising without a permit from the Returning Officer.
To ensure a level playing field at parliamentary elections, it is an offence to publicly display, between the issuance of the Writ of Election, and before the start of the campaign period, any traditional election advertising. There are exceptions, for example, flags that contain only the name and/or symbol of a political party, for the sole purpose of indicating that the office of the political party is located at or within a building.
Candidates or election agents can also authorise a third party to publish or cause to be published, or publicly display or cause to be publicly displayed, any traditional election advertising on his or her behalf. The authorisation must be signed by a candidate or his election agent, before the third party is allowed to publish or publicly display the non-online election advertising.
Q7) Are there limits to how much a political party can spend on election campaigns?
The law imposes a limit on the amount that may be incurred by way of election expenses and this limit is imposed on the candidates, not the political parties that the candidates represent.
For a candidate contesting in a Single Member Constituency, the maximum spending limit for election expenses is $4 for each elector on the electoral register for the electoral division. For a candidate contesting in a Group Representation Constituency (GRC), the maximum spending limit per candidate in the group is calculated by dividing an amount equal to $4 for each elector on the register for that GRC with the number of candidates in each group nominated for that GRC.
Spending in excess of the maximum spending limit is an Illegal Practice.
Q8) What are the Do's and Don’t's for candidates and supporters during the cooling-off period?
The period starting on the eve of Polling Day (i.e. Cooling-off Day) and ending with the close of poll on Polling Day is called the “cooling-off period”. This is a campaign silence period to give voters some time to reflect rationally on issues raised during the election. This means campaigning is banned and no fresh election advertising, including Online Election Advertising (OEA)[1], shall be published or publicly displayed during the cooling-off period. The rules apply to any person, including candidates, election agents and authorised third parties.
[1] OEA refers to any material published online that can be reasonably regarded as intended to promote, procure, or prejudice the electoral success/prospects for one or more political parties or candidate(s), or to otherwise enhance or prejudice their standing in connection with any election.
Campaigning activities and election advertising are not allowed during the cooling-off period which includes:
a. publishing Online Election Advertising (OEA) or publicly displaying non-online election advertising such as traditional election advertising (i.e., non-online election advertising in the form of banner, flag or poster), that is not already lawfully published or displayed;
b. To share/re-share/re-post/boost OEA that was published before the Cooling-off Period;
c. canvassing, walkabouts, door-to-door visits, visiting homes and workplaces of voters for election purposes in connection with the election;
d. wearing, using, carrying or displaying campaign propaganda (with the exception that only the candidate is allowed to wear a replica of the symbol allotted to him); and
e. holding of election meetings.
There are some exceptions to the prohibition of election advertising during the cooling-off period:
a. lawful OEA that was already in place before the start of Cooling-off Day;
b. non-online election advertising (e.g. banners, flags and posters) lawfully displayed before the start of Cooling-off Day;
c. public display of any non-online election advertising within or on an exterior wall or exterior window of the office or committee room of a candidate provided that the non-online election advertising
- comprises only permissible electoral matter; and
- is solely for the purpose of indicating that the office or room is the office or committee room of the candidate;
d. news reports in the newspapers, on radio and television relating to election matters by authorised news agencies;
e. promotional materials relating to the commercial sale of literary or artistic works such as books, if these works were previously scheduled for publication regardless of any election;
f. the communication of content between two or more individuals that is of a private or domestic nature using electronic means, such as individuals sharing election-related content within a private chat or closed group with family or friends; and
g. the communication of content using electronic means to a closed group of end-users who are employed or engaged in a business, for the conduct of that business.
Q9) What are the rules concerning the use of Online Election Advertising (OEA) that political parties, candidates and election agents have to comply with?
Our OEA[1] rules are laid out in the Parliamentary Elections Act 1954. All political parties, candidates and election agents are to abide by these rules to ensure transparency and accountability. The relevant rules are also summarised on ELD’s website under the relevant webpage for candidates concerning campaigning.
[1] OEA refers to any material published online that can be reasonably regarded as intended to promote, procure, or prejudice the electoral success/prospects for one or more political parties or candidate(s), or to otherwise enhance or prejudice their standing in connection with any election.
Q10) Are candidates allowed to send personalised election mailers to potential voters?
Under the law, candidates and political parties are allowed to purchase a copy of the Registers of Electors and use the information to communicate with electors. However, they cannot use the information for commercial or any other purposes.
Candidates who collect, use or disclose the personal data of individuals must comply with the provisions under the Personal Data Protection Act 2012.
Q11) Is it illegal to put up posters of political party leaders if they are not contesting in that specific electoral division during the elections?
The face of the political party’s leader can be used in traditional election advertising (i.e. non-online election advertising in the form of a banner, flag or poster) for the candidates standing for that political party, since voters would be able to identify the political party leader with that political party.
The political party may only designate one of its candidates as the political party leader in a General Election. The Returning Officer must be notified of the designation before the traditional election advertising is displayed.
Source: Elections Department website