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SINGAPORE – Singapore-based US citizens are preparing to cast their ballots by mail for the upcoming US presidential elections.
A spokesperson for the US embassy in Singapore said US citizens could leave their completed ballot at the embassy to be mailed.
US citizens in Singapore will also be able to send their ballot themselves, by mail or courier, to their local election officials if they are willing to pay for international shipping.
The embassy said it complies with the Singapore government’s safe distancing rules.
“If American citizens drop off their ballot at the embassy, they must adhere to safe distancing guidelines: temperatures will be checked before entering, masks must be worn at all times, and safe distancing must be performed. We have posters and tape on the ground and personnel are deployed to ensure safety and compliance, “the spokesperson added.
Voting in the US is administered by each state. Each locality in the US is responsible for mailing absentee ballots to voters who have requested a ballot. The voters must then return the ballot to their election officials.
Some states allow voting by email or fax. Other states only allow the paper ballot by mail.
In recent months, voters here have closely followed both candidates, current Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden, in the election campaign.
Trump and Biden met in the first of three planned presidential debates in Cleveland, Ohio, on Tuesday night (September 29).
The 90-minute debate at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic was moderated by Fox News host Chris Wallace and broadcast at 9am Singapore time on Wednesday (September 30).
For 54-year-old Steven Okun, this will be the fifth time he has cast his vote from here. He has been a resident of Singapore since 2003.
Okun, a senior adviser at McLarty Associates, said the recent presidential debate cast a negative light on current American politics.
He said Trump used the debate to underscore the integrity of the electoral process by claiming that voting by mail is fraudulent.
Okun added that the way the Covid-19 outbreak was handled in the US was a pertinent issue that needed to be addressed.
“Until the United States has a national plan to control Covid-19, nothing else will be resolved,” he said.
President Trump has repeatedly and explicitly questioned the integrity of mail-in ballots, which have always been a feature of American elections, in some states more than others, and have assumed even greater importance in this year’s election. the risk posed by the ranks and mingling amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Another Singapore-based voter, Ms. Tina Datta, described the Cleveland debate as an example of strong democracy in action.
Ms. Datta, 52, is the president of Republicans Overseas Singapore and has resided here for a decade.
Noting the shortcomings of the debate format, Ms. Datta said, “I think the debate for the majority of the American people was unfortunate from the point of view that none of the candidates could respond in full sentences.”
Ms. Datta said that Mr. Biden did not directly address the questions raised during the discussion. One of the important issues raised was the rule of law, he added.
The U.S. presidential race was thrown into disarray when Trump announced on Friday (September 2) that both he and his wife, Melania, had tested positive for Covid-19.
Trump was scheduled to meet with Biden on October 15 in Miami, Florida, and on October 22 in Nashville, Tennessee, for the second and third presidential debates before the November 3 elections.
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