Legco election polling stations to set at closed border points: Carrie Lam

Polling stations will be set up at border points for Hongkongers on the mainland to vote in the upcoming Legislative Council election on December 19, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said.

Speaking before the Executive Council meeting on Tuesday, Lam previewed they will be set at land ports that are now closed, including the Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau control points.

She said Hongkongers who wish to vote at these polling stations must be registered, and they will be subject to closed-loop management at the land port to stop them from entering the SAR community. 
After casting ballots at control points in the Hong Kong Port, they must return to the mainland immediately to not have to undergo quarantine.

Lam said details on the polling stations would be announced within this week.

A retired Hongkonger living in Dongguan welcomes the voting arrangement as the cost would be too high if he had to quarantine only because of casting a vote.

In response to proposals to calculate voting rate as “an integrated turnout” by combining that of the Election Committee, functional and geographic constituencies, Lam said authorities do not wish to change the calculation of voters’ turnout and that the SAR government has never raised any suggestions to change it.

She said the Legco election would cover a historic high of 90 seats and involve a large number of voters, and authorities would mobilize 38,000 officers to help with vote counting.