GE2020: questions you might have about Singapore's general election

All Singapore citizens aged 21 and above are required to vote. Still not sure if you're eligible to vote? Check online via the Elections Department (ELD) Services. You should have also received your poll card through the mail two to three days after Nomination Day.

Singapore goes to the polls on July 10, which has been declared a public holiday. Voting is compulsory and if you choose not to turn up, you won't be allowed to vote during future elections.

Here's how it works: once the elections are over, a list of non-voters is compiled by the Returning Officer and passed to the Registration Officers. Those on the list are then removed from the Register of Electors and no longer have the right to vote.

If you want to restore your name to the register, you will need to pay a fee of $50 if you did not have a valid reason for not voting. Restorations cannot be made once a Writ for an election has been issued.

Since this is the first time we're heading to the polls in the middle of a health crisis, the ELD has increased the number of polling stations and assigned us voting time-bands.

Check where and when you've been assigned via the ELD site. It'll tell you your constituency, polling station and allocated time slot. You can also monitor the crowd at the polling station via voteq.gowhere.gov.sg before heading down. 

You are not allowed to vote at any other polling station except the one you are assigned to, as stated in your poll card.

There are 11 political parties contesting in this year's general election.

National Solidarity Party
People's Action Party
People's Power Party
Peoples Voice
Progress Singapore Party
Red Dot United
Reform Party
Singapore Democratic Alliance
Singapore Democratic Party
Singapore People's Party
Workers' Party

This map shows which political parties are contesting in your electoral district and who their candidates are.

The best way to educate yourself on the issues at hand is by reading the manifestos of the various political parties. At the very least, you should be familiar with the manifestos of the parties contesting in your district.

Here's a crowd-sourced Google Drive that contains the manifestos of the various parties. Journalist Kirsten Han has pored over all the manifestos and put together a spreadsheet that breaks down each party's stand on different issues from the economy to the environment.

Don't panic! Voting for the first time is an exciting experience. If you need a crash course on how government works in Singapore, read this primer which explains everything from Parliament to the voting process. There are also plenty of infographics that are informative without being patronising – read up here.

Student-led advocacy group Cape has also put together an in-depth digest for all voters which includes journal articles and further reading into various electoral issues if you want to really be educated on all the happenings. 

These are issues that affect you and your future in Singapore. It'll affect your cost of living and your quality of life, it will also impact those around you. This year with the ongoing pandemic, issues like jobs, social inequality, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the future of Singapore are all hot-button topics of discussion. A good tip is to list down the issues you are passionate about, whether it's climate change or support for the elderly and read up on how the parties plan to help and whether or not you agree with those policies. Don't be afraid to email them if you need more clarification. 

Yes, your vote is a secret. The serial number you see on your ballot exists to prevent impersonation and ballot box stuffing. Here's a gov.sg article explaining how it all works. The Worker's Party has also broken the process down in this informative video.

After the elections, all ballot papers have to be sealed in the Supreme Court vault for 6 months. The seal is only broken if there's been a court order given to conduct voter tracing if there is sufficient evidence that votes have been fraudulently cast. Only then will those serial numbers be activated for tracing purposes. This rarely happens. Instead, what usually happens is that the seal ballot boxes are incinerated after six months, taking your secret vote along with it.

There are many resources to go to for the elections. Besides updates from the mainstream media and the individual party sites, you can read New Naratif's explainer on the elections which includes the main issues we're talking about this year, the candidates and more.

Curious about electoral boundaries and how they came to be? Straits Times has also created an interactive portal which maps out how the electoral boundaries have changed over the years and a little background history of Singapore at the polls.

Note that when covering a topic like the elections, it's hard to find sources that are truly neutral as everyone holds different matters closer to their hearts. What's important is that you read widely and try to escape your own echo chamber of views so that you better understand where the different sides are coming from.