The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) is reporting that there was 57 per cent voter turnout among special services personnel on Friday for the General Election.

For the by-elections in the electoral divisions of Chancery Hall, Olympic Gardens and Denham Town, the overall voter turnout was 50 per cent, the EOJ said.

Special services include police officers, military personnel and Election Day workers.
Friday’s turnout compares to a special services voter turnout of 56 per cent in the 2020 General Election and 63 per cent in the 2016 polls.

According to the EOJ, 25,938 special services electors voted Friday of a total of 45,455 who were eligible to vote.

During special services voting, each elector’s ballot was placed into an envelope corresponding with his/her constituency and/or electoral division. The sorting of the envelopes containing ballot papers cast commenced after the close of polls, the EOJ said.

The electoral office explained that while it has determined how many ballots have been received, there is no indication of how many votes each candidate has received, as the envelopes remain sealed and vaulted until the counting on Election Day.

The special services ballots will be transferred to the Returning Officers for the respective constituencies and deposited at pre-determined polling stations on Election Day. The ballots will then be counted together with the ballots cast on September 3, the EOJ said.