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Legislative Council General Election poll cards sent to 3.77 million electors
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     The 2016 Legislative Council General Election will be held on September 4. The Registration and Electoral Office (REO) has mailed poll cards to about 3,779,000 registered electors to inform them of where they should cast their votes on polling day.
 
     "Electors may only cast their votes at the designated polling station as specified on their poll card. They are advised to note the address of the designated polling station on their poll card to ensure that they go to the correct polling station," a spokesman for the REO said today (August 25).
 
     "Electors can log in to the Online Voter Information Enquiry System (OVIES) (www.voterinfo.gov.hk) if they have not yet received their poll card to check whether they are registered electors and their designated polling station. They can also call the election hotline 2891 1001 for enquiries," he said.
 
     In addition to the poll card, the electoral mail sent to each elector by the REO also includes introduction booklets on candidates in his or her geographical constituency (GC) and functional constituency (FC) as applicable, a map indicating the location of the designated polling station, a voting procedure guide, as well as a publicity leaflet on clean elections. The above-mentioned introductions to candidates, the location map of the polling station and the clean elections leaflet can also be viewed on the election website (www.elections.gov.hk).
 
     As candidates in 10 functional constituencies have been returned uncontested, electors in these constituencies will see a notification on the cover of the introductory booklet of the candidates concerned reminding them that voting for that functional constituency is not required.
 
     "As in the 2012 Legislative Council Election, the 'one-person-two-votes' arrangement will continue to be implemented in the forthcoming election. Most electors can cast two votes, one in a GC and one in an FC.
 
     "Voting is very simple. All electors need to do is to bring their identity document to the designated polling station specified on their poll card. The GC and District Council (second) functional constituency ballot papers will be pre-folded inward once along the dotted line by the polling staff at the ballot paper issuing desk before they are issued to electors. Electors must use the chop provided by the polling stations to stamp the ballot papers with a 'tick' in the circle opposite the chosen candidate list. They should then fold the ballot papers inward once along the dotted line to conceal the mark before putting the GC ballot paper into the blue ballot box and District Council (second) functional constituency ballot paper into the white ballot box," the spokesman said.
 
     The REO will open four mock polling stations for six days starting next Monday (August 29) to help electors familiarise themselves with voting procedures.
 
     The four mock polling stations will be set up at Leighton Hill Community Hall, Henry G Leong Yaumatei Community Centre, Tuen Mun Tseng Choi Street Community Hall and Tai Po Community Centre. They will be open from noon to 8pm, from August 29 to September 3.
 
     A hotline (2967 0416) and a fax (2834 0934) have been set up to arrange appointments for group visits to the mock polling stations from August 29 to September 2.
 
     A total of 571 ordinary polling stations and 24 dedicated polling stations will be open on polling day. The polling hours for the ordinary polling stations and the three dedicated polling stations set up at police stations will be from 7.30am to 10.30pm. For security reasons, the polling hours for the 21 dedicated polling stations set up in penal institutions will be from 9am to 4pm.
 
    On the election website, members of the public can view both the front and the back of mock ballot papers for the five GCs, the District Council (second) functional constituency and the traditional FCs. There is a description alongside each sample on its special features, one of which is the numbering system for the candidate lists. The number for each GC candidate list is a one- or two-digit Arabic numeral starting from 1, while the numbers for the nine candidate lists for the District Council (second) functional constituency range from 801 to 809. Except the special FCs which will adopt alphabetical codes, the number for each candidate for all traditional FCs is a one-digit Arabic numeral preceded by the alphabetical code assigned to the FC.
 
     The back of the ballot papers is also distinguished by patterns in different colours. The pattern on the back of the GC ballot paper is blue, the back of the District Council (second) functional constituency ballot paper is mainly white and the pattern on the back of the traditional FC ballot paper is red. These correspond to the blue ballot box for GCs, the white ballot box for the District Council (second) functional constituency and the red ballot box for traditional FCs.
 
     Measures have been taken by the REO to facilitate electors with special needs to exercise their right to 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 them," the spokesman said.
 
     The location map enclosed with the poll card specifies clearly whether the designated polling station is accessible to electors who are wheelchair users or have mobility difficulty.
 
     "Electors with mobility difficulty or those who use wheelchairs may apply to the REO by August 30 (next Tuesday) (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 re-allocation to another polling station in case they have been allocated to a polling station inaccessible to them. If possible, the REO will also arrange rehab buses to take them to and from polling stations upon request," he said.

     In addition, more than half of the candidates have, in response to the appeal by the Electoral Affairs Commission, provided a text version of their introductions to enable electors with visual impairment to understand the content using software aids. Electors with visual impairment may also listen to the candidates' introductions by calling the dedicated telephone line 2893 3762. Braille templates will be provided at polling stations to assist electors with visual impairment to vote.

     To help electors who are not familiar with Chinese and English to cast their votes, guides on voting procedures in nine foreign languages (Japanese, Korean, Thai, Hindi, Bahasa Indonesia, Nepali, Punjabi, Urdu and Tagalog) will be available at every polling station. Brief information on the election in the said languages has also been uploaded onto 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 seven ethnic minority languages (Thai, Hindi, Bahasa Indonesia, Nepali, Punjabi, Urdu and Tagalog) to help electors who are not familiar with Chinese and English make enquiries to the REO on election matters during the two weeks prior to and on the polling day.

     A pictorial guide 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 procedure.
 
     Information about the election is available on the election website (www.elections.gov.hk). For enquiries, members of the public may call the election hotline on 2891 1001.
 
Ends/Thursday, August 25, 2016
Issued at HKT 14:35
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