The updated voter rolls of Singaporeans eligible to vote in the next general election are now open for public inspection, the Elections Department (ELD) said yesterday.
This time, there are a total of 2,594,740 electors in the certified Registers of Electors, about 80,000 more electors than when the registers were last certified in 2017.
The increase is typically caused by people turning 21 and new immigrants becoming citizens.
Among the different electoral divisions, Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC had the largest increase in the number of voters, from 222,798 in July 2017 to 242,067 in February this year.
The certification of the registers is a routine exercise which must be done after the registers are revised between elections. Despite this, the updating of voter rolls has often sparked speculation that a general election is looming.
But there has been no fixed period between the certification of the registers and the time that an election was called in the past. The voter rolls have also been updated multiple times in a term.
For instance, the registers were certified in 2014 and again in April 2015, with the GE called about four months later that year. Previously, the registers were certified in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
In its statement, the ELD said Singaporeans can check their particulars in the registers – including name, address and constituency, among other things – at its premises in Prinsep Street, on its website, or at community centres and community clubs.
Those living overseas can check at Singapore missions that serve as polling stations in New York, Washington, San Francisco, London, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Canberra and Dubai.
The ELD said those who had their names removed from the registers because they did not vote in a past election can still apply to have their names restored so that they can vote at future elections.
This has to be done before the election period as applications for restoration will not be processed from the day the writ for an election is issued until after the election is over. This could be after Nomination Day if the election is not contested, or after Polling Day if it goes to the polls.
Singaporeans whose names are in the registers and who are living abroad will have to register as overseas electors to vote at one of the designated overseas polling stations if they have not done so after Feb 1 this year.
But they must have resided in Singapore for an aggregate of at least 30 days during the three-year period between Feb 1, 2016, and Jan 31 this year.
While application for registration as an overseas elector is open year round, applications will not be processed from the third day after the writ for an election is issued until after the election is over.
This time, there are a total of 2,594,740 electors in the certified Registers of Electors, about 80,000 more electors than when the registers were last certified in 2017.