Absentee voting may be implemented by 2012

“The government's only motive in considering the plan is to broaden the people's political participation and protect their right to vote,” Jiang said during an interview with a local TV station.

Jiang dismissed allegations that the government is planning to introduce absentee voting because of political party wars or as part of any conspiracy scheme orchestrated by the ruling Kuomintang.

He said the plan did not originate with him, but rather with the previous Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration which had started studying the possibility of implementing an absentee voting system when Su Tseng-chang was premier.

Jiang said the Ministry of the Interior is considering an absentee system that would allow “transfer voting.” This means election workers, military personnel, students and inmates will be able to vote in the constituencies in which they are working, studying or serving their sentences instead of in the electoral districts where their households are registered, he said.

The ministry hopes to implement the proposal in time for the 2012 presidential election, Jiang said.

At present, Taiwan voters must cast their ballots in the areas where their households are registered, but because many of them do not work or reside in the electoral districts where they are registered, they have to return to their registered addresses in order to vote.

Systems that require absentee voting before election day or by mail will not be considered, Jiang said.

“Transfer voting would allow people to cast their ballots in one place, while their votes would be counted electronically in another constituency the same election day,” Jiang said.

“This kind of transfer voting is the safest method, “ he added.

President Ma Ying-jeou said Feb. 22 that it is imperative to adopt a transfer voting system to protect the constitutional and human rights of Taiwan's electorate.

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