Hospital patient in leg cast, woman with hair curler: Singaporeans vote on Polling Day

SINGAPORE - From nuns and nursing home residents, to a hospital patient who came with his leg in a cast, voters have been turning up at 1,264 polling centres on Polling Day.

As at noon, 1,406,182 Singaporeans - or about 52 per cent of the total number of eligible electors - have cast their votes in the first four hours of polling, said the Elections Department (ELD) on Friday.

Polls opened at 8am and close at 8pm as Singaporeans vote for the Republic's ninth president.

After a shaky start, plagued by issues with the voter registration system and subsequent long queues, lines at polling centres eased by around 10am.

At Block 307 Jurong East Street 32, there was a queue of about 100 from 8am to 9am, with numbers falling drastically to just 10 people at 9.30am.

A young woman showed up with a curler in her hair as she cast her vote.

A 43-year-old Jurong resident, who wanted to be known only as Mr S, arrived in a wheelchair in his hospital gown and sporting a full-leg cast.

He had suffered a knee fracture but despite this, he voted accompanied by his wife, then returned to the hospital.

They were among the diverse groups of voters on Friday that included three Buddhist nuns at the Wisma Geylang Serai polling centre.

As at noon, the queues have shortened at polling stations around the island.

Singaporeans can track the queue situation at polling stations via this website.

There were several new features introduced this year to improve the voting process.

Voters can present their digital NRIC and ePoll card via the Singpass app instead of bringing the physical cards to their polling stations.

A self-inking X-stamp to be used on the ballot paper was also introduced.

First-time voter, student Aroni Sarkar, 23, who voted at Katong Community Centre, said the voting process went smoothly. Staff at the polling station verified her NRIC and polling card manually after a lag in the digital system.

Ms Sarkar, who came with her parents, arrived at 8.10am and queued for about 30 minutes.

She said: "It was streamlined, focused, and smooth."

However, a homemaker who only wanted to be known as Madam Neo, waited almost an hour before she left the centre with her son and daughter, who are in their 20s.

Madam Neo, who is in her 50s, said: "The machines took very long to scan my NRIC, and there was a long queue because there were only two machines. We haven't eaten breakfast yet."

Republic of Singapore Air Force regular Mr Ethan Ng, 44, liked the self-inking stamp.

He was the third person in the queue at a pavilion in front of Block 63 Lorong 5 Toa Payoh when he arrived at about 7am.

Retiree Kathirithamby Ramakrishnan, 74, who was the first person in the queue with his wife and son, at Chung Cheng High School (Main) in Geylang, said he had no problem with the new X-stamp, because the ink was still fresh.

This year, there were also special polling stations set up at 31 nursing homes to make it more convenient for less mobile seniors to vote.

Madam Lee Dan Lin, 75, who cast her vote at the Society for the Aged Sick in Hougang Avenue 1, said voting on-site was very convenient as compared to going to polling stations.

Madam Lee, who has been at the nursing home for the past five years, said: "(Last time) it was very troublesome. An ambulance sent us there, and then we had to wait under the hot sun."

After polls close on Friday, Singaporeans will get an early indication of the outcome of the presidential election at around 10pm to 11pm, before the final count is in.

This is because the ELD website will publish the results of a sample count, which is expected to be completed two to three hours after polling closes at 8pm.

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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.