Critics have urged the government to improve the handling of ballot papers after it emerged that the documents were being stored in the homes of polling station officers prior to the election. News agency FactWire reported on Thursday that, according to a handbook issued by the Registration and Electoral Office, officers were allowed to take ballot papers back to their homes a week before the Legislative Council election on Sunday. The news report said the ballot papers were sealed in plastic bags after being counted and would only be opened on the day of the election.
A reporter from the agency also managed to enter the venue where the election material was being distributed and witnessed around a dozen officers queuing for taxis with the documents.
Ivan Choy Chi-keung, a political scientist at the Chinese University, said placing the ballot papers in the officers’ homes increased the risk of the documents being tampered with.
Full Article: Hong Kong election ballot papers at risk of tampering in the homes of officers | South China Morning Post.