Mock polling stations of 2023 District Council Ordinary Election open tomorrow
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The four mock polling stations will be set up at North Point Community Hall, Kwun Tong Community Centre, Tai Po Community Centre and Tuen Mun Tseng Choi Street Community Hall. They will be open from 4pm to 8pm tomorrow, and from noon to 8pm from December 6 to 8.
A hotline (2967 0367) and a fax line (2834 0934) have been set up by the REO to arrange appointments for group visits to the mock polling stations on December 6 and 7.
On the polling day, there will be more than 600 DCGC ordinary polling stations, 18 District Committees constituency (DCC) polling stations and a maximum of 48 dedicated polling stations. Four near boundary polling stations will be set up at two secondary schools in the vicinity of Sheung Shui MTR Station to enable electors who reside in the Mainland or need to travel to and from the Mainland on the polling day to cast their DCGC votes. DCGC electors may register before 6pm tomorrow via the online registration system (www.reo-form.gov.hk/NBPS/en). From December 6, electors may log in to the Online Voter Information Enquiry System (www.voterinfo.gov.hk) to check the final polling station allocated.
Members of the public can view both the front and the back of mock ballot papers for the DCGCs and the DCCs on the election website (www.elections.gov.hk/dc2023/eng/pollinfo.html). There is also a description on its special features.
"Measures have been taken by the REO to enable electors with special needs to cast their vote. In this election, over 90 per cent of the polling stations are accessible to electors with mobility difficulty or those who use wheelchairs. If required and possible, the REO will install temporary ramps at polling stations to facilitate electors with mobility difficulties," the spokesman said.
The location map of the polling station enclosed with the poll card specifies clearly whether the designated polling station is accessible to electors who have mobility difficulties or are wheelchair users.
"Electors with mobility difficulties or those who use wheelchairs who have been allocated to a polling station which is inaccessible to them may apply to the REO by tomorrow (i.e. at least five days before the polling day) through the election hotline (2891 1001), fax (2891 1180) or email (reoenq@reo.gov.hk) for reallocation to another polling station. If possible, the REO will also arrange rehab buses to take them to and from polling stations upon request," the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, the Electoral Affairs Commission encourages candidates to provide a text version of their Introduction to Candidates to enable electors with visual impairment to understand the content using software aids. The text versions provided by candidates have been uploaded to the election website (www.elections.gov.hk/dc2023/eng/introduction.html). Electors with visual impairment may also listen to the candidates' introductions by calling the dedicated 24-hour Interactive Voice Response System (2893 3762). Braille templates will also be provided at polling stations to assist electors with visual impairment to vote.
To help electors who are unfamiliar with Chinese and English to cast their votes, voting procedures guides in 10 other languages (Japanese, Korean, Bahasa Indonesia, Hindi, Nepali, Punjabi, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese and Urdu) will be available at every polling station. Information on the election in these languages has also been uploaded to the election website.
The REO has also made arrangements with the Centre for Harmony and Enhancement of Ethnic Minority Residents run by the Hong Kong Christian Service to provide a telephone simultaneous interpretation service with eight languages (Bahasa Indonesia, Hindi, Nepali, Punjabi, Tagalog, Thai, Vietnamese and Urdu) to electors concerned to assist them in consulting the REO on election matters from November 27 to December 1 and from December 4 to the polling day.
An Illustration on Guidance on Voting Procedure showing the voting procedures will also be provided at polling stations to help electors with hearing or communication problems and electors who are not familiar with Chinese and English to understand the voting procedures. The Illustration on Guidance on Voting Procedure has been uploaded to the election website (www.elections.gov.hk/dc2023/eng/pollinfo.html).
Information about the election is available on the election website (www.elections.gov.hk). For enquiries, please call the election hotline (2891 1001).
Ends/Monday, December 4, 2023
Issued at HKT 16:20
Issued at HKT 16:20
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