Two options to speed up counting of LegCo ballots

The Electoral Affairs Commission is exploring two options to speed up the counting of ballot papers in the coming Legislative Council election in September this year.

Under Option One, a regional counting station will be set up to handle ballot papers from each of the five geographical constituencies, and results will be announced at the respective counting station.

Under Option Two, each of the 500 polling stations will turn into a counting station immediately after polling closes to count its own ballot papers. The number of votes cast for each geographical constituency list at each polling station will be reported to a central co-ordination centre, which will calculate and announce the overall results.

The vote-counting arrangements in respect of functional constituencies and the Election Committee remain almost unchanged with all the ballot papers being counted at a central counting station, located inside the central co-ordination centre.

But under Option Two, ballot boxes for functional constituencies will first be opened for verification of ballot paper accounts before delivery to the central counting station. This will sort out the geographical constituency and functional constituencies ballot papers wrongly placed in ballot boxes, and thus avoid any delay that may be caused by a late discovery, resulting in having to transport such ballot papers to where they belong.

"The Commission would like to pool the wisdom of the public before arriving at a decision in view of the importance of the subject," the Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission, Mr Justice Woo Kwok-hing, said at a press conference to launch a public consultation exercise.

In the previous Legislative Council election in 1998, it took until around 5 pm the following day after polling closed to finish the count of 1.49 million ballot papers for geographical constituencies at a central counting station.

"The Commission reviewed the arrangements and found them smooth and satisfactory; however, there has been a general concern that the counting process should be speeded up as much as possible," he said.

In the coming election it may not be possible to hire the same venue for centralised counting as in 1998 and it would not be possible to get another venue of similar size and convenience, he added.

Each of the two options has its own advantages and disadvantages. Option One's advantages are:

* The validity of all questionable ballots for a geographical constituency can be determined by the same Returning Officer, who is a District Officer. The question of inconsistent determinations does not arise.

* The secrecy of the vote can be fully maintained because the votes will only be counted after ballot papers from two or more polling stations are mixed.

* Candidates and their representatives can observe the entire process in a single counting station.

* The media may find it more convenient to cover activities at five regional counting stations.


The advantages of Option Two are:

* It is faster. 500 polling stations can count votes concurrently with each of them handling a considerably smaller number of ballots (ranging from 12 to 9,400 in the 1998 election, and on the average 3,000).

* It is safer. There is no need to deliver ballot boxes from 500 polling stations to five counting stations.

* It is more transparent. The public can witness the count at a much closer distance while the votes marked on ballot papers can be shown to those present at the count.

* It is cheaper. Each polling station can be readily converted to be a counting station. Extra costs for setting up regional counting stations can be saved.


Both options have their drawbacks. For Option One,

* Its speed may not be much faster than centralised counting as each regional counting station still handles a large number of ballots (ranging from 207,000 to 377,000 for each geographical constituency in 1998).

* Transportation of ballot boxes is required.

* The public can observe the count only at a designated area from afar.

* It is estimated that $2.6 million is needed to set up five regional counting stations.


Option Two's weaknesses are:

* Candidates cannot observe for themselves the count and the determination of the validity of questionable ballots at 100 different places. They may have to rely on their counting agents to do the job, and some may have difficulty in fielding sufficient agents to cover so many counting stations. The same resources problem will also apply to the media who wish to cover all polling/counting stations.

* There may be reservations about the competence and experience of presiding officers, who will perform the dual role of supervising both polling and counting. But the determination of the validity of questionable ballots should pose little problem with the use of a chop to mark ballot papers. Presiding officers can be well trained and can seek legal advice by faxing questionable ballots to a legal officer stationed at the central co-ordination centre.

* Requests for a recount cannot be entertained, but all ballots in each polling station can be counted twice to ensure accuracy. In 1998, there was no request for a recount because the votes were not too close. Anyhow, a recount under Option One would need a long time as it would involve 207,000 to 377,000 ballot papers, using the 1998 figures as basis.

* There may be reservations about whether the secrecy of the vote can be maintained if only a few votes are cast at a polling station. But this risk is highly unlikely in view of the fact that only two polling stations catered for fewer than 50 electors in the 1999 District Councils election.

Mr Justice Woo pointed out that ballot papers would be much bigger this time with the printing of names of organisations and emblems, thus the count would slow down under either option. While more ballot boxes are needed to contain the bigger ballot papers, it would be more time-consuming to deliver them to the regional counting stations and to handle the ballot papers all at one place under Option One.

Staffing required for the counting of geographical constituency ballots under both options is more or less the same. About 1,500 to 1,750 staff members will need to be deployed.

Any views or suggestions should be sent to reach the Commission, c/o the Registration and Electoral Office, 14/F Guardian House, 32 Oi Kwan Road, Wan Chai, by February 9. Comments may be sent in by fax (2893 2545) or e-mail (eacenq@eac.gcn.gov.hk).

The Commission will hold a public forum at the Recital Hall, 8/F City Hall High Block, Central, on Tuesday, January 25 to listen to public views. Members of the Legislative Council Panel on Constitutional Affairs are invited to make comments at 2.30 pm and the general public are invited to express their views at 3.30 pm. Everyone is welcome to attend both sessions.

A consultation paper setting out the pros and cons of the two options is available at District Offices, the Registration and Electoral Office and the website, www.eac.gov.hk. Enquiries may be made on 2891 0462.