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http://anyhowhantam.blogspot.sg/2015/08/your-vote-is-secret-dont-fear-or-listen.html
5. Then how come the PAP knows how my Precinct Voted?
Well in a slightly sneaky move, the Govt introduced a method of counting. In any constituency, there will be a few voting centres each covering a precinct. Usually it's around 10 blocks - around 5 to 8 voters thereabouts. When the ballot boxes are brought to the counting centre - they are of course marked with numbers and words like A2, B3, C4 etc. These are all the different precincts - so maybe precinct A had 3 boxes - A1 to A3. And so it goes.
What they do is count these precincts separately - so in your constituency there are 3 precincts, each precinct is counted separately before the total votes in each are tallied up to give the final full figure for that constituency. So take Potong Pasir, they have like 3 (or 4) precincts - Blks 101-148 Potong Pasir, Sennett estate (possibly Woodleigh) and of course the 8 blocks in Lor 8 Toa Payoh.
So both Lina Chiam (SPP) and Sitoh Yipin (PAP) will know how each of these precincts voted in total - not each individual's vote. Say in Lor 8, Lina got 1900 of the total 3000 votes in that precinct, Sitoh 1000 and 100 were rejected votes.
This data might help the opposition know where their support lies, but to the PAP it's a 'gold-mine.' They will know where they are weak, comparing each election to the previous. This has led to allegations of an unlevelled playing field, because frequently you see the electoral boundaries redrawn - Gombak, Anson, Nee Soon Central, Braddell Heights to name a few, saw these precincts even constituencies absorbed or merged with others, where of course the PAP is stronger. And the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee is virtually a law unto itself - headed by the PM's private secretary and even receiving 'guidance' from him.
Potong Pasir I believe, best exemplifies this - in the last polls, Lina lost by a mere 114 votes. I believe the addition of new condos at Woodleigh Park may have played a crucial part in this. Lor 8 Toa Payoh is usually a Chiam stronghold - Sennett estate - PAP, with the 148 blocks in Potong Pasir usually leaning Chiam's way - maybe 55-60% in a good year, but in a close year like 2011, it may be closer to 50%, hence any new votes or voters can have a telling effect and produce such a cliff-hanger.
5. Then how come the PAP knows how my Precinct Voted?
Well in a slightly sneaky move, the Govt introduced a method of counting. In any constituency, there will be a few voting centres each covering a precinct. Usually it's around 10 blocks - around 5 to 8 voters thereabouts. When the ballot boxes are brought to the counting centre - they are of course marked with numbers and words like A2, B3, C4 etc. These are all the different precincts - so maybe precinct A had 3 boxes - A1 to A3. And so it goes.
What they do is count these precincts separately - so in your constituency there are 3 precincts, each precinct is counted separately before the total votes in each are tallied up to give the final full figure for that constituency. So take Potong Pasir, they have like 3 (or 4) precincts - Blks 101-148 Potong Pasir, Sennett estate (possibly Woodleigh) and of course the 8 blocks in Lor 8 Toa Payoh.
So both Lina Chiam (SPP) and Sitoh Yipin (PAP) will know how each of these precincts voted in total - not each individual's vote. Say in Lor 8, Lina got 1900 of the total 3000 votes in that precinct, Sitoh 1000 and 100 were rejected votes.
This data might help the opposition know where their support lies, but to the PAP it's a 'gold-mine.' They will know where they are weak, comparing each election to the previous. This has led to allegations of an unlevelled playing field, because frequently you see the electoral boundaries redrawn - Gombak, Anson, Nee Soon Central, Braddell Heights to name a few, saw these precincts even constituencies absorbed or merged with others, where of course the PAP is stronger. And the Electoral Boundaries Review Committee is virtually a law unto itself - headed by the PM's private secretary and even receiving 'guidance' from him.
Potong Pasir I believe, best exemplifies this - in the last polls, Lina lost by a mere 114 votes. I believe the addition of new condos at Woodleigh Park may have played a crucial part in this. Lor 8 Toa Payoh is usually a Chiam stronghold - Sennett estate - PAP, with the 148 blocks in Potong Pasir usually leaning Chiam's way - maybe 55-60% in a good year, but in a close year like 2011, it may be closer to 50%, hence any new votes or voters can have a telling effect and produce such a cliff-hanger.
