The advanced poll for Bermuda’s registered voters who plan to travel , incapacitated voters and seniors will take place on Thursday and Friday at four designated polling stations.
Those polling stations will be set up both days at Midland Heights Seventh-day Adventist Church, Horticultural Hall at Botanical Gardens, National Sports Centre Pavilion and St Mary’s Church in Warwick from 8am to 8pm.
The initial dates were rescheduled due to Hurricane Paulette.
Nomination Day in the lead up to election day on October 1 was held just before the storm at the Seventh-day Church Hall on King Street in Hamilton on September 10.
*The Parliamentary Registry will be open to assist voters during the hours of polling.
According to the registry’s website, here’s what you need to know, including required documentation to vote:
ADVANCED POLLING FOR TRAVELERS
Voters who are travelling and wish to vote in the advanced polls will no longer be required to apply to the Registrar to vote in advance. Instead they will report directly to the polling station on the day they wish to vote.
Who is eligible to vote in advanced polling for travellers?
Voters who are registered to vote on the final register of electors for this general election and who intend to be absent from Bermuda or to travel to or from Bermuda on October 1, are eligible to apply to vote in an advanced poll for travelers.
Required Documentation
Voters will need to prove that they are intending to be absent from Bermuda or intend to travel to or from Bermuda on polling day. Upon entering the polling place, voters will be required to produce:
- Valid photo ID
- Hard copy of confirmed airline ticket/reservation
Tips for Travellers Voting In Advance
- We will be keeping the hard copy of your confirmed airline ticket, ensure you keep a copy for yourself.
- We will not accept pictures of airline reservations from a cell phone. They must be printed and provided in hard copy.
ADVANCED POLLING FOR INCAPACITATED VOTERS
Voters who are incapacitated due to illness, infirmity or disability are invited to vote in an advanced poll.
Who is eligible to vote in advanced polling for incapacitated voters?
Voters who are registered on the final register of electors for this general election, who require additional time to get to the polls and those voters who have prearranged medical appointments [for example a C-section or surgical procedure], which would prevent them from being present on October 1, are invited to vote in advanced polls for incapacitated voters.
Required Documentation
- Voters will be required to obtain a Certificate of Incapacity from a registered medical practitioner.
- Valid photo ID
Procedures
Once the voter has obtained the certificate from the registered medical practitioner, he/she will come to the polling station with the certificate and their ID to place their vote.
The Returning officer will take the certificate and allow the voter to vote.
ADVANCED POLLING FOR SENIORS
Seniors aged 65 and over are invited to vote in advanced polls. All that is required is valid photo ID. Seniors should park in the designate areas marked for seniors at each polling station.
ADVANCED POLLING FOR SICK & SHUT IN VOTERS
Advanced Polling for sick and shut in voters, will take place from the 21st – 25th of September by appointment only.
Provisions are made in the Parliamentary Election Act 1978 to allow for those voters who are sick and shut in to cast their votes from home.
Who is eligible to vote from home?
- Voters who are registered to vote on the final register of electors for this general election and who are not able by mechanical means or other means due to disability or poor health to get to the polling place to cast their vote.
- Voters who are unable to attend the polling place because they are under isolation or quarantine due to COVID illness.
Required Documentation
Every voter who wishes to vote from home must;
- Be registered on the parliamentary register and their registration details must be up to date.
- Have a letter from a Registered Medical Practitioner; or
- For those isolated due to COVID illness, have a letter from the Chief Medical Officer’s epidemiology unit.
- Have valid Identification.
- Must apply to the Registrar using the online form provided.
APPLY TO VOTE FROM HOME
Please fill in and submit the form provided below. A representative from the Parliamentary Registry will contact you to make further arrangements.
*Registration for voting from home will close on Thursday, September 17th, 2020 at 5pm.*
Tips for Voting From Home for Sick & Shut in Voters
- Ensure that you are wearing a mask and any other protective wear needed when Returning Officers come to visit your home.
- Ensure adequate space is available for Returning Officers and Agents to enter your home.
- Be aware that an Agent for each candidate will be allowed to attend voting at your residence as observers only.
- Sanitize you home once the officers have completed voting and have left your home.
- The voter receiving the home visit must be able to make a decision on their own in order to be allowed to vote. Family members and caregivers will not be able to assist with voting.
- Voters under isolation will receive a clear set of procedures by email once their applications have been accepted.
Now that the official candidates are known, the Progressive Labour Party is already up by three with no contesting candidates for in the constituencies represented by Michael Weeks, Neville Tyrell and Jason Hayward.
The PLP has a full slate of candidates for all the other seats currently held by the One Bermuda Alliance apart from the seats vacated by former MP Rolfe Commissiong and Michael Scott.
Unlike the last General Election, there is a third party in this race — the new Freedom Democratic Movement and Independent candidates.
