The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ is reporting that polling stations and staff are said to be equipped and ready for voting by members of the police and military, as well as Election Day workers, to cast their votes on Thursday, February 22. The polling hours on the day will be from 8am to 4pm.
Preparations have been made to accommodate voting for the 40,514 special services electors to go to the polls ahead of the February 26 Local Government Elections. This group comprises:
• 10,544 police officers;
• 4,882 soldiers; and
• 25,088 Election Day workers
Under the Representation of the People Act, provisions are made for military and police personnel, as well as Election Day workers, to vote ahead of the rest of the population to ensure that they are available for duty on Election Day.
The names of the special service voters have been extracted from the official Voters’ List and dispersed to a total of 270 designated locations, which together account for 365 polling stations that have been set up to facilitate voting on the day. The locations and polling stations have been allocated as follows:
• 10 polling locations (38 polling stations) for military voting;
• 21 polling locations (78 polling stations) for the police; and
• 239 polling locations (249 polling stations) for Election Day workers
The list of polling locations includes police stations, military bases, schools, churches and community centres. Police and military personnel will vote at the voting location closest to where they are assigned to work.
Glasspole Brown, Director of Elections, is imploring employers to grant their employees permission to serve as Election Day workers.
“We are appealing to employers to give Election Day workers the necessary time off on Election Day to carry out their civic duty. We are also expressing appreciation to those employers who have readily committed to allowing their employees to work on Election Day,” he said.
Election Day workers who have not been notified of their voting day and voting location by phone or text message are advised to contact the EOJ.
