[SGE 2011] Rejected votes: A basic analysis.

Sun, 8 May 2011
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Your vote is your voice: Be heard.

Thought I’d just take a basic/preliminary look at the rejected votes in this year’s General Elections because it’s something I’m curious about.

Based on data provided by ChannelNewsAsia:

  • Total percentage of rejected votes as a proportion of votes cast: 2%
  • Constituencies with lowest percentage of rejected votes:
    • Hougang: 1.13%
    • Aljunied: 1.34%
  • Constituency with highest percentage of rejected votes: Ang Mo Kio (3.01%)
  • Proportion of constituencies with rejected votes > national average of rejected votes: 16/26

What are some possible conclusions we can draw from this?

  • Perhaps voters in Hougang and Aljunied took voting the most seriously because:
    • These constituencies were the most hotly contested,
    • These constituencies were contested by the Workers’ Party (reinforced by the fact that all except one of the constituencies contested by the Workers’ Party had <2% of votes rejected).
  • Rejected votes in Ang Mo Kio: small proportion of voters who feel they don’t really have a choice, or perhaps are really clueless about how to vote.
  • If it’s the latter, then we can tackle this problem in relation to the fourth statistic I found:
    • Perhaps we need to be teaching our fellow citizens how to vote over the course of five years, instead of only doing so during the elections.
    • There also needs to be instructions at polling booths, because the rejected votes make a mockery of the voting process.

This is a basic analysis of the data, so I welcome more scrutiny/thoughts on the subject.

Spoiling your vote? Think again.

Sat, 7 May 2011
2 min read
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Do not be afraid. They cannot stop us all.

TL;DR: Your spoilt vote can be counted if the Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) deems it possible that there was intent to vote for a certain party.

I don’t know if this post will have any relevance, since I’m posting it so late on Polling Day.

But I thought I’d put it up for now and for posterity, to clear any misconceptions that people might have about spoiling their votes.

In sum, don’t spoil your vote because a spoilt vote is not always a spoilt vote.

With reference to Section 7.5 of the Handbook for Parliamentary Election Candidates 2011:

…a ballot paper on which the vote is marked elsewhere than in the proper place, otherwise than by means of a cross or by more than one marking will not be treated as void if an intention that the vote should be for one candidate or group of candidate clearly appears, and the way the paper is marked does not of itself identify the voter.

How does the ARO do this? These images will make my explanation clearer (borrowed from 何思慧’s Facebook note):

Any mark you make in the box next to the insignia of a certain party = intent to vote for them.
Any mark you make in the box next to the insignia of a certain party = intent to vote for them.

If you draw a big cross over the whole piece of paper, the vote is counted at the point where the centre of the X falls.
If you draw a big cross over the whole piece of paper, the vote is counted at the point where the centre of the X falls.

The only way to make sure your vote counts is to place a nice 'X' in the centre of the empty box next to the insignia of the party you are voting for.
The only way to make sure your vote counts is to place a nice ‘X’ in the centre of the empty box next to the insignia of the party you are voting for.