There is no absentee voting system… To exercise your right to vote, you must go to your registered family register.
With Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections held simultaneously, road and rail traffic increased as city residents returned to their hometowns to vote.
According to Taiwanese local media outlets such as Taiwan News and Taiwan Radio International (RTI) on the 13th, the Taiwan Railway Corporation (TRC) estimated that up to 758,000 passengers will travel by train per day during this presidential and legislative election period. This figure is larger than the 2020 presidential election and 2022 local elections.
Accordingly, Taiwan Railway Corporation added 83 trains from January 12 to 15, and announced that 53% of train tickets have already been sold.
According to Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA), the number of vehicles on the roads the previous day was 5% higher than the average traffic volume on Friday evenings after working hours. Traffic volume is expected to be 3% higher on the 13th than on other Saturdays, and the most severe congestion is expected to be between 9 and 10 a.m. Work, including construction of highways and major roads, will be suspended for one day on Election Day.
According to local media, many Taiwanese live, work or study in major cities, but many are still registered as residents of remote villages in mountainous areas or small islands.
Since Taiwan does not have an absentee voting system, you must go to your family register to vote. For this reason, many Taiwanese living not only in Taiwan’s big cities but also overseas return temporarily to vote.
A local group has launched a special bus service to help young voters and first-time voters get home to vote.
For a fee of 113 Taiwan dollars (about 4,800 won), voters aged 20 to 35 can board a bus from 10 universities and train stations in most cities and provinces. This plan was made possible because more than 1,500 people donated a total of NT$900,000 (about 38 million won), Taiwan News reported.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.