Taiwan’s Central Election Commission (CEC) reminded the public on the eve of the vote that the nationwide referendum Case No. 21 and the recall of seven Kuomintang (KMT) legislators will take place on August 23. They also explained the procedures for this year’s computerized vote counting.
The CEC announced in a press release that the main text of the nationwide referendum Case No. 21, which is being handled by the CEC on behalf of the Legislative Yuan, is: “Do you agree to continue the operation of the third nuclear power plant after the supervisory authority confirms there are no safety concerns?” Voting hours are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The voting process for the recall and referendum involves a “receive, receive, vote” procedure. Upon entering the polling station, voters will first receive the recall ballot, followed by the referendum ballot. After marking their selections, these ballots are then placed in their respective ballot boxes. The counting sequence will start with the recall ballots followed by the referendum ballots. Mistakenly placing a recall or referendum ballot in the wrong box will still count as a valid vote according to the law.
The CEC stated that citizens who are at least 18 years old have the right to vote in the nationwide referendum. A total of 22,091,000 people are eligible voters for this nationwide referendum, with approximately 750,000 first-time voters. Citizens can check the location of their polling station through the CEC’s “National Referendum Special Zone for the 114th Year” or the “Voting Location Inquiry” system on the Ministry of the Interior’s Household Registration Office website.
There are a total of 368 election operation centers and 17,832 polling stations nationwide, with over 200,000 election personnel mobilized for duty. The CEC has issued five points to remind the public to comply with regulations and avoid legal consequences:
1. While campaigning for the referendum is not prohibited on voting day, activities related to recall or other campaign promotions are not allowed.
2. Voters should bring their national ID, seal, and voting notification to the designated polling station, and refrain from wearing or carrying any items with referendum-related texts, symbols, or images. In addition, there are specific restrictions in certain electoral districts in New Taipei City, Taichung City, Hsinchu County, and Nantou County where recall voting is conducted simultaneously.
3. Taking the referendum or recall ballots out of the polling station is prohibited, and violators may face imprisonment, detention, or a fine not exceeding NT$15,000.
4. Destroying the referendum or recall ballots carries a fine of NT$5,000 up to NT$50,000.
5. Revealing the marked content to others after voting is punishable by imprisonment, detention, or a fine not exceeding NT$200,000.
On the voting day, the CEC will establish the “Central Election Service Command and Contingency Center” to monitor the electoral situation in real-time and implement contingency measures. After counting, each polling station will display the vote tally for public viewing, and the “Vote Counting Report” will be sent to the township (town, city, district) election operation center for data entry. The counting data will be promptly transmitted to the Central Election Situation Center for immediate public disclosure, and the results will be consistent with the local vote counts, which will also be broadcasted live on the CEC website.
The National Communications Commission will also have personnel on-site to oversee the process and remind the media to present the CEC’s vote counting data on television screens in a timely manner and disclose the source of the counting information.
The CEC emphasizes that the counting and vote counting operations for this election will be conducted openly and transparently, with computerized vote counting featuring comprehensive information security protection and backup measures. They express gratitude to the cooperating vendor, Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd., for their assistance in this process.