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No special voting arrangements for people with Covid
The Central Election Commission says there is "no legal basis" for proposals to allow people in coronavirus isolation to cast absentee ballots or vote at designated polling places during next month's local election.
The commission said, methods used in Japan and South Korea to allow such patients to vote, such as voting by mail or at specially designated times or polling places, are not permitted under Taiwan's election laws.
As proof, the commission cited Article 17 of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act, which states that a voter must cast their ballot "at the polling station at the place of domicile unless otherwise prescribed."
And it's stressing the phrase "unless otherwise prescribed" refers specifically to election officials who are allowed to vote at the polling station where they are working.
Opposition lawmakers have been urging the government to allow people in coronavirus isolation to cast their ballots in the election - arguing that "hundreds of thousands" of people will be unable to vote because of a recent infection.
The Central Epidemic Command Center is still reviewing the issue and reports say it could still relax quarantine rules specifically to allow people observing the 7-day isolation protocol to vote.
