Kaohsiung City will hold a referendum today on reducing the size of elementary and junior high school classes from 35 students to 25, the first such referendum since the Referendum Act (公投法) was amended.
Kaohsiung Election Commission officials said the results of today’s vote would be announced within seven days.
The Kaohsiung Teachers’ Association urged all eligible voters to cast their ballots in favor of the proposition to help improve the quality of education in the city “for the sake of the students’ futures.”
People aged 20 and above who have been registered as city residents for at least six months are eligible to vote in the referendum, the association said.
The association reminded voters to take proper identification, their personal seal and their voter registration document to polling stations.
The association, which initiated the referendum on reducing class sizes two years ago, has been holding large-scale campaigns in recent weeks to drum up support for the referendum.
However, many city officials are against the proposal because they say the plan would cost the city government an additional NT$32 million (US$1 million) per year to pay for additional teachers and classrooms.
For the referendum result to be valid, at least half of the city’s eligible voters — approximately 570,000 — must cast ballots and the referendum will pass if more than 50 percent vote in favor of the proposal.
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