SINGAPORE - Mr Benjamin Yap, a Singaporean living in Ho Chi Minh City, struggles to remember the last time he voted in an election.

The 56-year-old lawyer is only certain that it was before he moved to Vietnam with his wife in 2005.

The key reason? Distance. He would have had to travel out of Vietnam to cast his vote, as there are only 10 overseas polling stations worldwide, with the nearest one being in Hong Kong.

But on May 3, Mr Yap received an e-mail from the Elections Department (ELD) informing him that he can vote by post to “make voting overseas more accessible and convenient for (him)”.

The e-mail also said to look out for an announcement to start registering as an overseas elector to vote by post, and to check if one’s name was on the register of electors. The register is typically revised before elections.

Mr Yap immediately used his Singpass to restore his name on the register. He is eager to vote in Singapore’s presidential election slated to be held by Sept 13.

“I have been away from Singapore for so long, but I still feel Singaporean at heart. I see my ability to exercise my right to vote as very much intrinsic to my status as a Singaporean,” said Mr Yap, who lives in Ho Chi Minh City with his wife and their 15-year-old son.

He is one of 185,800 Singaporeans living abroad who, if aged 21 and above and not disqualified from voting, will be able to register and vote by post for the first time.

New laws were passed in March to allow postal voting for Singaporeans who are overseas.

Before the changes, they had to travel to polling stations in specified places to vote, a situation that resulted in some being unable to vote when Covid-19 travel restrictions set in across the globe in 2020.

The coming election will also feature another first – special polling stations on nursing home premises, and the deployment of mobile polling teams to collect ballot papers from bedbound voters in the nursing homes.

The ELD plans to pilot the special polling arrangements in nursing homes with more than 50 voters. This will involve 25 to 30 nursing homes and reach out to over 2,000 voters, about two-thirds of registered voters currently residing in nursing homes.

The Straits Times spoke to experts on what the changes to election rules mean for the 2023 Presidential Election.

More access, more votes

The last time Singaporeans went to the polls during the 2020 General Election, ELD reported that there were 6,570 registered overseas voters, and 4,794 of them cast their ballots.

Those who cast their votes could do so only at 10 overseas polling stations located in “countries or cities where there is a significant number of Singaporeans”, says ELD on its website.

The stations are located in Canberra, London, Tokyo, Beijing, Washington, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Dubai, San Francisco and New York.

Singapore Management University (SMU) assistant professor Benjamin Joshua Ong, who specialises in constitutional law, noted that the vast majority of overseas Singaporeans are not registered voters, so it is impossible to tell precisely by how much the turnout rate will increase.

However, he said that to focus on the precise increase in the number of voters would be to miss the point.

“The right to vote is a constitutional right, and we should welcome efforts that make it easier to exercise this right. Of course, democracy is much more than just putting a piece of paper into a box every few years. But voting is a solemn ritual that reinforces a citizen’s ties to the democratic system.”

Likewise, National University of Singapore adjunct law professor Kevin Tan stressed that voting is a constitutional right and called the move “long overdue”.

He said: “It’s something we should have made provision for... and since it’s a right, the state should facilitate it.”

Prof Tan added that in an election like the 2011 Presidential Election, where Dr Tony Tan Keng Yam edged out Dr Tan Cheng Bock by 7,382 votes, the postal votes from overseas voters could matter.

“Looking at it quantitatively, the overseas votes might have swung the election the other way because the margin was very, very slim,” he said.

Maintaining election integrity

SMU’s Prof Ong is of the view that postal voting does not necessarily pose a greater risk of fraud than in-person voting.

This is because the law contains safeguards, including that votes must be posted in an official envelope with a unique QR code, and that the return envelope will be counted only if it was sent in on time, remains sealed, has not been tampered with, and was not damaged to the extent that it is impossible to authenticate.

If there are multiple votes purportedly sent by the same voter, only the first one received will count.

It is also a criminal offence to counterfeit a return envelope or to open, tamper with or intentionally damage a sealed return envelope without authorisation.

Aside from protecting the voting process, SMU associate professor of law Eugene Tan stressed the need for voters to pay attention to the people, or groups, behind candidates’ campaigns.

The laws dictate that candidates cannot accept political donations from Singaporeans below 21 years of age, foreign individuals, foreign businesses, foreign political organisations or foreign public enterprises. They must also disclose affiliations with any foreign entity.

Candidates must also report single donations of $10,000 or more from donors, and multiple donations from the same donor that amount to $10,000 or more in any calendar year. They are not allowed to receive anonymous donations beyond $5,000 during the relevant period or in any calendar year.

With political discourse increasingly taking place online, the laws also make any boosting, sharing, resharing or reposting of online election advertising subject to the same requirements as primary advertising.

They will also require all election advertising to carry the full names of those responsible for publishing, approving, directing, printing and paying for the content.

SMU’s Prof Tan said: “In an age of foreign interference in elections, measures to provide for more transparency and accountability in campaign financing and campaign advertising are necessary and vital for election integrity.

“Voters need to know who paid for campaign advertisements and who is deeply involved in the campaign messaging. This will enable voters to know who is backing a candidate and, where appropriate, to require more information on the relationship.”