ELECTIONS 2022: Torn ballots, phone use top irregularities reported – Taipei Times

• By Ou Su-mei, Tsai Ya-hua and Jake Chung / Staff Reporters, with a Staff Writer

Seventy incidents involving 72 people who allegedly violated the Election and Dismissal of Civil Servants Law (公職人員選舉罷免法) occurred during yesterday’s local elections, the National Police Agency said.

The incidents included 37 counts of destroying ballots and 24 counts of bringing cellphones into voting booths, the agency said, citing national information compiled as of 4 p.m. of voting.

Also among the alleged offenses were six people campaigning on Election Day, two being disruptive within 30 yards of polling stations and one refusing to leave a polling station after being asked.

Photo courtesy of a member of the public

Also among the reported incidents was a man named Hsu (許) in Anding District in Tainan (安定) who tore up his ballots for mayor and city councilor as he left the polling station, claiming that he only wanted to vote for the prefect of the arrondissement.

In Yunlin County, a woman named Huang (黃) said she discovered after arriving at the polling station that someone had already taken her ballot and persuaded the controllers to give her another set of ballots. vote so she can vote.

The Central Election Commission, after investigation, said the incident was a mistake on the part of election officials, as they accidentally stamped Huang’s name before she got her ballots.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) has been charged with violating election law and has been dismissed for wearing a jacket with the party’s acronym printed on the back.

Article 65 of the law on the election and dismissal of civil servants prohibits the wearing or display of flags, emblems, objects or clothing bearing the logos of political parties or groups on election day, and that persons who do not obey orders to leave a polling station after being asked to leave could face criminal prosecution.

Individuals could be fined NT$5,000 to NT$50,000 under Section 44 of the Referendum Law (公民投票法) for inserting anything other than an official ballot into a ballot box or intentionally destroying ballot papers.

Separately, Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤), campaign manager for Taipei Democratic Progressive Party mayoral candidate Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), said polling station officials in some wards, including Baohu of Neihu (寶湖), Huxiao de Daan (虎嘯) and Beitou Yonghe (永和) — folded the ballots on Chen’s name, which would be a “technical obstruction” of electoral affairs.

The Taipei Election Commission said the allegation had been investigated and no evidence of such incidents had been found.

In Tanzih District of Taichung (潭子), a man named Chen (陳) said that polling station supervisors were not distributing ballots for the voting age referendum, based on of his observations.

Taichung City Election Commission Director General Huang Chung-tien (黃崇典) said the allegation would be reviewed.

The Yunlin County Election Commission said yesterday it had reminded staff at its 617 polling stations to give every voter a ballot after some people said they had not received a ballot. before asking for it, while others were reportedly asked if they wanted a ballot before being handed one.

Poll supervisors and volunteers should not ask if voters want to receive ballots, although their wishes should be respected if they decline the central election.

Additional reporting by Shihsh Hsiao-kuang,

Wu Su-wei and NAC