The Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday announced campaigning prohibitions starting from midnight tonight in the lead-up to tomorrow’s recall referendums.
The announcement came at a news conference to remind the public of voting laws as polls are to open across Taiwan to decide the fate of 24 lawmakers from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), as well as suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) of the Taiwan People's Party.
Voters should remember to bring their national ID card, personal seal and voting notice to their designated polling station, Central Election Committee Deputy Chairman Chen Chao-chien (陳朝建) said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The five major restrictions are: a ban on campaigning, including on social media; noise or disturbances around polling stations; bringing recording equipment into the polling booth; tearing up ballots and taking the ballot out of the polling station.
For anybody who campaigns after midnight tonight, the penalty is between NT$100,000 to NT$1 million (US$3,397 to US$33,977), doubled for those working on behalf of candidates or campaigns, Chen said.
Those who disturb the area around a polling booth or seek to persuade people to vote a certain way can be sentenced to up to a year in prison or receive a fine of up to NT$15,000, Chen added.
Those who record the inside of the polling booth can face fines of between NT$30,000 to NT$300,000, he added.
The penalty for tearing or destroying ballots is between NT$5,000 and NT$50,000, while carrying them out of the voting location would result in a fine of up to NT$15,000 or one year in prison, Chen said.
Neither the pro-recall side or the anti-recall side are allowed to encourage the public to vote actively, Chen said, adding that any reports would be investigated.
Responding to online rumors about voters bringing their own ink pads and selection tools, the CEC said those rumors were false and that not only would their use invalidate the ballot, but refusal to follow instructions could see violators punished for contravening the Public officials Election And Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).
Regarding online rumors that some polling locations were moved to remote areas, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) today said that the CEC has asked local election committees to provide explanations as to why the changes were made.
There should be no further changes, he added.
The location of polling stations is managed by local entities, Chen said.
Some change is normal between elections, but the CEC has taken measures to promote new locations such as radio and social media advertisements, and assigning personnel to redirect voters from old voting sites to the new ones, he added.
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