Multiple reports of infractions and alleged rule-breaking were reported at voting stations across nine electoral districts during yesterday’s recall voting.
The Central Election Commission (CEC) Taipei office’s election oversight committee yesterday forwarded a complaint to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office regarding former Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) for allegedly contravening the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法).
The complaint was based on Jaw displaying his stamped ballot to the media at a recall polling station in Taipei’s Daan District (大安).
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
Jaw said he made a mistake and apologized for “setting a bad example.” Under articles 88 and 105 of the act, displaying a marked ballot can result in penalties of up to two years in prison or a fine of up to NT$200,000.
Other incidents also occurred, including one in Taoyuan, where a 58-year-old woman surnamed Huang (黃) tore up her ballot at a voting booth after mistakenly using her personal seal. Her request for a new ballot was refused.
In a separate incident in Taoyuan, a 70-year-old man surnamed Wu (吳) tore up his ballot after it was deemed invalid due to smudging caused by an ink-stained finger. The Taoyuan City Election Commission stated that such behavior is punishable by a fine ranging from NT$5,000 to NT$50,000.
Photo: Cheng I-hwa, AFP
In Taichung’s Nantun District (南屯), a 58-year-old voter surnamed Lai (賴) forgot to silence her phone, and it rang as she entered a polling station. As a result, she could face a fine of between NT$30,000 and NT$300,000, according to the CEC Taichung office’s election oversight committee.
Under Paragraph 3, Article 65 of the act, portable phones and other recording devices are prohibited in polling stations unless used for official business. Devices that are powered off may be permitted.
At polling station 156, also in Nantun District, it was discovered that surveillance cameras were in use. After being informed of the situation, the authorities at Wanhe Junior High School instructed school staff to cover the cameras’ lenses.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
In addition, a post on the Facebook page “Farm Girl’s View of the World” shared an incident in New Taipei City, where a voter found the surface of their voting booth covered in ink, which stained their ballot.
Initially, polling officials deemed the ballot invalid, but after the voter’s complaints, they were provided with a new ballot, and the booth surface was cleaned, the post said.
Thirty-three election-related contraventions had been reported at polling stations across the nation yesterday, the National Police Agency said.
Additional reporting by Chou Min-hung, Huang Hsu-lei,
Huang Cheng-chia, Cheng Ching-yi and CNA
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