Again this year, as during previous elections, millions of people scrambled to return to their hometowns to vote, while others flew home from overseas.
This game of “musical chairs,” which occurs every time there are referendums, nine-in-one elections or legislative and presidential elections, is a waste of resources and an impediment to the electoral process. Many Taiwanese are reluctant or unable to make the trip to a polling station, which in some cases might require traveling the entire length of Taiwan proper, or to and from one of the outlying islands. For students and those on a budget, these journeys might be too much of a financial burden.
The Taiwan Youth Association for Democracy and National Students’ Union of Taiwan this year raised more than NT$2.5 million (US$83,281) to cover travel expenses for 3,500 students. The groups’ efforts are commendable, but a better option would be for the government to simply allow absentee voting, which has been bandied about for more than a decade.
In 2013, amendments were passed, but they appear to have been rescinded — or perhaps were only meant to be temporary. A March 18, 2013, Central News Agency report cites then-Central Election Commission (CEC) chairwoman Chang Po-ya (張博雅) as saying that absentee voting would be used “in a proposed referendum on the future of the controversial Fourth Nuclear Power Plant,” but added that it would not be allowed in combined elections.
Five months later, lawmakers passed amendments to the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act (總統副總統選舉罷免法) and the Referendum Act (公民投票法). Reports at the time said the amendments would allow 190,000 election workers, 60,000 police officers and 220,000 military personnel to work on voting day, as well as 550,000 employees and 320,000 students who live in a city or county where they have not established voting residency to cast their ballots at alternative polling stations.
However, a quick look at the CEC’s Web site confirms that no such measure is in place.
“Electors must vote in person at their city or county of residence’s polling booth on election day. Absentee voting is not implemented in Taiwan,” a statement on the Web site says.
Entries for the two acts on the Ministry of Justice’s Web site also confirm this.
Article 13 of the recall act says: “An elector shall vote at the polling station at the location of domicile unless otherwise prescribed.”
Only two exceptions are listed: staff at a polling station can vote at that station, but only if it is in the same city or county as their registered address; voters with disabilities can be accompanied at the polls or register a proxy voter. Under no circumstances can votes be cast from outside Taiwan.
These restrictions are uncharacteristic of a developed nation and most countries allow voters to register at alternative polling stations ahead of elections or to vote at a representative office abroad. For Taiwan, voting from China would obviously not be feasible, but there is no logical reason that Taiwanese in the US or elsewhere should not be allowed to vote at representative offices. At the very least, voting at alternative polling stations within Taiwan’s borders should be allowed.
One concern of absentee voting is logistics, while another is security. In December 2018, Shih Hsin University public policy management professor William Yang (楊惟任) suggested that Taiwan use electronic voting. These systems have been implemented successfully in other countries and could be securely executed through citizen digital certificates or electronic IDs, he said. It could first be implemented within the nation’s borders, and only for referendums, and later expanded if successful.
Regardless of the solution, the government must find a way to make voting easier and increase electoral participation.
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