Will Year-End Elections Combined with 4 Referendums Extend Vote Counting Until 3 AM? CEC Chair You Ying-long Reveals Major Concerns

Central Election Commission (CEC) Chair You Ying-long, speaking at the Legislative Yuan's Interior Committee today (16th), responded to questions from Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Lee Kun-cheng and others regarding election preparations, estimated vote-counting timelines, and review standards for legislative proposals related to the November 28 local elections combined with citizen referendums.

Opposition party caucuses have already submitted a total of six referendum proposals, including corporal punishment, opposition to abolishing the death penalty, abolishing the nuclear-free homeland policy, transferable voting, dedicated traffic fine revenue, and euthanasia—sparking widespread concern that the election chaos seen in 2018 could recur. You admitted that combining multiple referendums with elections would pose substantial practical difficulties for local election administrations. If four referendum cases proceed, vote counting is projected to extend until 3 AM the following day.

According to a special report submitted by the CEC to the Legislative Yuan, if all six referendum proposals passed by the legislature are delivered to the CEC for implementation, the workload on grassroots election staff and the vote-counting schedule will be severely strained. Citing the 2022 'Nine-in-One' local elections, which were held alongside the '18-Year-Old Voting Rights Constitutional Amendment' referendum, You noted that vote counting that year was not fully completed until 11:40 PM on election night.

Based on this timeline, the CEC estimates that if one referendum is combined with this year’s local elections, vote counting could still conclude before midnight. With two referendums, the process would cross into the next day. Three referendums could extend counting until 1–2 AM. If four referendums are approved, vote counting would very likely continue until 2–3 AM the following day to fully tally all ballots.

Regarding the possibility of up to six referendum cases, You stated, 'The CEC has no choice but to lead all election staff forward with determination and full responsibility.'

What Are the Substantive Review Criteria for Referendum Proposals?

On the substantive review criteria for referendum proposals, Kuomintang (KMT) legislator Liao Hsien-hsiang questioned You about his previous statement that 'referendum proposals passed by the Legislative Yuan are generally approved, with rejection being the exception.' You clarified that proposals from the legislature represent the majority opinion within the body and are thus highly respected by the CEC. However, the CEC will strictly examine whether each proposal meets the criteria of 'initiation or recall of major policies' as stipulated in Article 2, Paragraph 2, Clause 3 of the Referendum Act.

When legislator Lee further asked whether proposals like 'opposition to abolishing the death penalty' might violate the Constitution and whether the CEC could reject them on such grounds, You clarified that 'unconstitutionality' is not an explicitly defined criterion for approval or rejection under the Referendum Act. The final authority to determine constitutionality lies with the Judicial Yuan's Constitutional Court. However, You added that, based on previous CEC committee discussions and consensus on similar anti-death penalty referendum proposals, the commission has already sent a clear message: referendum items that substantially contradict existing Constitutional Court rulings are, in legal principle, unsuitable as referendum subjects.

Additionally, some legislators and public opinion have highlighted current election administration concerns, particularly drawing comparisons to the 2018 election chaos caused by ten concurrent referendums alongside local elections. You acknowledged that the 2018 situation resulted from a combination of complex legal restrictions and external factors, and should not be solely attributed to inadequate handling by the CEC or grassroots staff. Nevertheless, referencing 2018, You frankly admitted that this year’s referendums also pose a major challenge to election operations and emphasized that the 2018 experience has become a crucial lesson for the CEC. Moving forward, while maintaining election neutrality and preventing misinformation from influencing the electoral outcome, the CEC will continue optimizing polling station layouts and staffing arrangements at all vote-counting locations, striving to legally implement all legislative referendum cases while minimizing the shift burden on frontline staff and reducing public waiting times.