DAB wants all HK adults become voters
The DAB has proposed that all Hong Kong adults become voters automatically without the need of signing up. Hong Kong's largest political party made the suggestion on Tuesday ahead of the District Council polls in December, citing complaints by people it spoke to about the verification process as well as the cost of voter registration campaigns. The DAB said people should be placed on the electoral register when they reach 18, sparing them the need to sign up as voters and undergo verification of their eligibility. The party also pointed out that the government spends around HK$10 million a year on voter registration campaigns, so having people become voters automatically would save public money. "If we do automatic registration for eligible voters, you don't need to waste an enormous amount of money, resources, manpower to handle the voter registration mechanism," DAB lawmaker Holden Chow told a press conference. "So it's more economically effective, and it's easy, too." On polling day arrangements, the DAB proposed reducing the number of hours the polls are open from the current 14 – which it said is too long compared with some of our neighbours – to 10. The party also said polling stations at the border should become a regular feature, after the government set up border stations for Hongkongers living on the mainland to vote in the Legco election held in 2021 amid the pandemic. "If you [used to] live on Hong Kong Island, and you're in, say, Shenzhen, then you have to travel all the way across the border to Hong Kong Island and then go back, it takes you like three hours," Chow said. "That might actually deter people from casting their vote." He added voters should be allowed to cast their ballots in a polling station they prefer, instead of the one closest to their home.