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GE2020: ELD reminds voters that passports can be used to enter polling stations, following surge in demand for IC services

SINGAPORE — The Elections Department Singapore (ELD) on Saturday (June 27) reminded Singaporeans that they can use their passports in place of their identity cards (ICs) to enter polling stations to cast their vote on July 10.

For people who are rushing to replace their lost identity cards, the Elections Department Singapore said that passports may be used to identify voters.

For people who are rushing to replace their lost identity cards, the Elections Department Singapore said that passports may be used to identify voters.

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SINGAPORE —  The Elections Department Singapore (ELD) on Saturday (June 27) reminded Singaporeans that they can use their passports in place of their identity cards (ICs) to enter polling stations to cast their vote on July 10. 

The reminder came following a surge in requests for IC services, especially the replacement of ICs, collection of new ICs and change of address. 

Demand for these has gone up by “between 40 per cent and 140 per cent”, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a separate statement. 

The authority has received more than 1,000 IC-related requests daily since it was announced on June 23 that the writ for the General Election has been issued, with Polling Day falling on July 10.

“This surge is compounded by a higher volume of IC-related applications following the end of the circuit breaker, as ICA services were scaled back during (that period),” it said. 

Singapore had halted non-essential activities in April and May when the circuit was on. 

ICA said that it has deployed more manpower to manage the jump in demand. 

It will also be delivering ICs to the homes of Singapore residents who have made IC applications between Jan 1 and May 31, in order to reduce the volume of people turning up at the ICA Building. 

The authority will prioritise the processing of applications for the replacement of ICs, “which means a corresponding delay in the processing of requests for re-registration of ICs”. 

It noted that the replacement of ICs is “more important in the context of the upcoming General Election, as the IC would be the primary means of identity verification for the purposes of voting”.

At the same time, ELD said that it “would like to assure Singaporeans that the Singapore passport can be used in lieu of the NRIC on Polling Day”.

It added that the address on voters’ poll card is based on the cut-off date of March 1 for the preparation of the Registers of Electors. Voters are assigned their polling stations based on their registered addresses as of that date. 

ICA reiterated that any changes of address by voters after March 1 will not lead to a change in their assigned polling stations.

Related topics

Singapore General Election SGVotes2020 ELD NRIC passport voting

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