
Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Prime Minister whether the Government can consider early mail-in ballots from overseas voters to ensure that overseas Singaporeans are also able to participate in elections.
Mr Chan Chun Sing (for the Prime Minister): Overseas Singaporeans are already able to participate in our elections via voting at overseas polling stations.
There are challenges in implementing mail-in ballots. For example, it is difficult to ensure that the ballots will get back on time to be counted. Late and missing ballots can result in controversies. There are also risks with security and secrecy of the ballot as it may be lost or tampered with during postal delivery.
Nevertheless, the Elections Department continually reviews our election processes, to see how we can improve access for overseas Singaporeans while ensuring integrity and secrecy of the vote.
Prime Minister’s Office
5 January 2021
https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/sprs3topic?reportid=written-answer-6871