Registered Voters for General Elections of 2001, 2006 and 2011

Mr Chen Show Mao asked the Prime Minister (a) how many Singaporeans were entitled to vote in each of the 2001, 2006 and 2011 General Elections; (b) of these voters, how many were registered to vote in each case; (c) how many voters were removed from the register of electors following the 2001, 2006 and 2011 General Elections respectively; (d) how many voters were restored to the registers of electors before the 2001, 2006 and 2011 General Elections respectively; and (e) for each of the 2001, 2006 and 2011 General Elections, what is the demographic breakdown of voters who were removed from the register of electors, by (i) age (ii) gender (iii) ethnic group and (iv) type of residence.

Mr Chen Show Mao asked the Prime Minister (a) what is the rationale for removing non-voters from the register of electors when voting is compulsory for all eligible citizens; (b) whether the $50 penalty imposed to restore a name to the register of electors without valid reasons for non-voting can be waived for low-income Singaporeans; and (c) what measures are in place or will be taken to remind and assist citizens to restore their names to the registers of electors; and (d) whether the Ministry will consider changing the laws or regulations so that a voter's name is not removed from the register of electors even if a penalty is imposed for not voting.

Mr Teo Chee Hean (for the Prime Minister): Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 3 and 4 together?

Mr Speaker: Yes, please.

Mr Teo Chee Hean: Before starting, I would like to thank Mr Chen for agreeing with me. Under our election laws, persons who are eligible to vote will have their names entered or retained in the registers of electors automatically when the registers are prepared, revised or updated. There is no need for individual persons to register to vote, except for the registration of overseas electors. The registers of electors in operation are conclusive evidence that determines whether a person is eligible to vote. Persons whose names are found in the registers of electors must vote.

Voting is compulsory as it is as much a fundamental right of citizenship as it is a civic responsibility to be exercised by citizens to choose and elect their leaders in a democracy. Hence, those who do not turn up to vote – I will refer to them as "non-voters" for convenience – have their names expunged from the registers after the election.

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However, if such a non-voter wishes to restore his name to the registers of electors, so that he can vote at the next election, he can freely apply to do so. This may be done at any time, except during the election period. His name will be restored as long as he can provide a valid reason for not voting. If he has no valid reason, his name will still be restored but he will have to pay $50 for his name to be restored. Of course, he may also choose not to apply for his name to be restored and, in this case, there is no imposition of any financial penalty. This approach is a practical and balanced one because, while voting is compulsory in the sense that you are required to vote if your name is in the registers of electors as an eligible voter, we really cannot compel anyone to vote if he chooses not to fulfil his responsibility. Nevertheless, the right for him to vote remains as he can apply to have his name restored to the registers of electors. This system has been working well and there is no need for any change.

Although non-voters have to provide a reason for not voting when applying to restore their names, a broad spectrum of reasons has been accepted as valid to cater to many situations. These include studying overseas, working overseas, on holiday overseas, on medical leave, hospitalised, bedridden, mental incapacity and so on. As such, the majority of the non-voters have not had to pay the penalty to have their names restored. Thus far, the Elections Department has not received any request for reinstatement to the electoral registers without financial penalty which have cited low income as the reason for not voting. The Elections Department will consider any such application on its merits, on a case-by-case basis.

We undertake several measures to remind people to vote and to restore their names in the registers of electors if they have failed to vote. After every election when the names of electors who failed to vote are expunged from the registers of electors, the Elections Department will send letters to inform them that they may apply to restore their names if they wish to do so. In addition to sending such letters to those who did not vote at the last election, similar letters are also sent to those who did not vote in previous elections.

In between elections, the Elections Department also sends out such letters to the non-voters every time the registers of electors are revised. After the 2011 General Election, 147,000 letters were sent to non-voters from that election within a short period of two months, so that those who wish to vote in the 2011 Presidential Election can get their names restored to the registers of electors in time for the election.

Application for non-voters to restore their names to the registers is also made simple and can be done in several ways. Upon receiving the letter from the Elections Department, non-voters may apply by filling in the relevant details in the letter and simply mailing it back to the Department. They may apply in person at any of the community centres or clubs, or at the office of the Elections Department. They may also make their application online via the Elections Department website.

Before the 2001 General Election, 30,317 names of non-voters were restored to the registers of electors. For the 2001 General Election, there were 2,036,923 names in the registers of electors for all constituencies when the writ of election was issued on 18 October 2001, and those were the electors who were eligible to vote in that election. Following the 2001 General Election, 36,403 names of non-voters were expunged from the registers of electors.

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Before the 2006 General Election, 25,508 names of non-voters were restored to the registers of electors. For the 2006 General Election, there were 2,158,704 names in the registers of electors for all constituencies when the writ of election was issued on 20 April 2006, and these were the electors who were eligible to vote in that election. Following the 2006 General Election, 72,881 names of non-voters were expunged from the registers of electors.

Before the 2011 General Election, 60,086 names of non-voters were restored to the registers of electors. For the 2011 General Election, there were 2,350,873 names in the registers of electors for all constituencies when the writ of election was issued on 19 April 2011, and those were the electors who were eligible to vote in that election. Following the 2011 General Election, 150,729 names of non-voters were expunged from the registers of electors.

The lists of non-voters have been compiled after every election by simply capturing the names and NRIC numbers of voters who did not turn up at the polling stations to vote on Polling Day. The Elections Department does not maintain detailed particulars of the non-voters for profile analysis as such information is not essential for the preparation of the non-voters' lists.

Mr Chen Show Mao: Sir, I would like to thank the Deputy Prime Minister for the numbers he gave of voters who were eligible to vote in these different elections. I guess my question is related to the number of Singaporeans who are entitled to have their names included in the registers of electors, meaning Singaporeans over the age of 21 who are ordinarily resident in Singapore, because there is a number that is not necessarily the same as the number of eligible voters whose names appear on the register.

The reason I asked this is because in my visits to constituents both before and after the elections, questions were put to me about the election procedures that made me worried that some Singaporeans may have fallen off the radar screen because they did not vote in the past, because as the Deputy Prime Minister explained right now, if you do not vote in an election, your name will be removed from the registers of electors and you will not be eligible to vote unless you take action to restore your name.

Mr Speaker: Mr Chen, can you come to the question, please?

Mr Chen Show Mao: The question is, what are the numbers of Singaporeans entitled to have their names included in the register of voters for each of the three General Elections I asked about.

Mr Teo Chee Hean: Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not entirely understand Mr Chen's question because he asked how many Singaporeans were entitled to vote in each of the 2001, 2006 and 2011 General Elections, and I have provided him the numbers for the Singaporeans who were entitled to vote. Singaporeans who are entitled to vote are those who are on the electoral register and if there are Singaporeans whose names are not on the electoral register, they can apply for their names to be on the electoral register at any time.

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Mr Chen Show Mao: And the question is, how many Singaporeans are there whose names do not appear in the electoral register. Because once you do not vote, your name is removed from the register. And unless you take action to apply through the Elections Department and provide a valid reason or pay $50, then you are free of this responsibility to vote or put in other way €”

Mr Speaker: Mr Chen, please allow the Deputy Prime Minister to reply.

Mr Chen Show Mao: €” you lose your right to vote.

Mr Teo Chee Hean: Sir, the system in Singapore is different from that in other countries. In other countries, you have to register to vote. In Singapore, if you have a registered address, you will be on the electoral register unless for some reason, as I described previously, you decided not to vote and did not ask your name to be restored. So, if indeed Mr Chen has come across such residents, I would urge him to please inform them to apply to the Elections Department in the many ways which have been described, so that they can be on the electoral register. I would want every Singaporean to be on the electoral register. So, rather than cast aspersions or doubts on the electoral system in Singapore, I would urge him to help us to make sure that every Singaporean possible can be on the electoral register and to let them know if he actually does come across such persons.

Mr Speaker: Mr Chen, last question, please.

Mr Chen Show Mao: I would be most happy to do that. I am not casting aspersions on anything. I am asking for numbers that tell us how many Singaporeans do not have their names on the electoral register. It should be a simple number to provide because it is a group of Singaporeans that we should encourage and assist to vote in the spirit of an inclusive society, in the spirit of active citizens.

Mr Teo Chee Hean: Mr Speaker, Sir, I assume he has asked me a question, so may I respond?

Mr Teo Chee Hean: Mr Speaker, Sir, as I have explained earlier, there is no impediment to anyone who is a Singapore citizen, who wishes to vote, to come forward to have his name on the electoral register, if his name is not there already. In fact, every time the registers of electors are open, one of the things which Singaporeans are encouraged to do is to check the registers of electors to make sure their names are there and if they are not there, to please register. So, I think that is quite comprehensive. I do not have the numbers of those persons whose names may, for some reason or other, not be on the registers of electors. I cannot imagine the numbers are very high. For those who wish to have their names on the registers of electors, they are always free to do so. And as I said, if Mr Chen actually comes across any such persons, please advise them to put their names on the register of electors.