WHILE indicating that courts are “on alert for all eventualities”, the island’s judiciary has urged electors voting today “to stick with the legislation and use the X within the box and nothing else”.

The Representation of the People (Amendment) Act 2020 (ROPA), which is the primary legislation governing elections, says an elector, on receiving the ballot paper from the presiding officer “shall forthwith enter one of the polling compartments and there mark his ballot paper by making a cross with a black lead pencil within the space containing the name of the candidate for whom he intends to vote, and shall then fold the ballot paper as directed so that the initials and the numbers on the counterfoil can be seen without opening it, and hand the paper to the presiding officer, who shall, without unfolding it, ascertain by examination of the initials and numbers appearing thereon that it is the same paper as that delivered to the elector, and if the same, he shall, subject to the provisions of Section 38, forthwith in full view of the voter and all others present, remove and destroy the counterfoil and deposit the ballot in the ballot box”.

It also says, “an elector who has inadvertently so dealt with the ballot paper delivered to him that it cannot conveniently be used, shall restore it to the presiding officer who shall so deface it as to render it a spoiled ballot. The presiding officer shall then deliver another ballot paper to the elector”.

Additionally, it states that “every elector shall vote without undue delay and shall leave the polling station as soon as his ballot paper has been put into the ballot box”.

The ROPA also makes provisions for persons with disabilities, particularly the blind, to cast their ballots. An individual who is blind, for example, can allow the presiding officer to make their mark on their behalf (in public) or can opt to bring a friend or relative to assist him or her.

Last Wednesday, senior puisne judge, now acting judge of the Court of Appeal, Justice Lorna Shelly-Williams, leading a three-member panel comprising puisne judge Justice Sandria Wong-Small and acting puisne judge Justice Opal Smith, in an interview with the Jamaica Observer said voters should avoid using markings on the ballot that could give away their identity.

“For instance, the particular voter has a signature drawing or something like that, if they put that drawing on the ballot it may actually identify the individual voter, so it is a case where we are encouraging persons to stick with the legislation and use the X within the box and nothing else. We will look at each individual ballot to determine whether or not it is rejected or accepted,” she said.

Justice Shelly-Williams made that observation while outlining the situations that can trigger a magisterial recount, in which case the courts will be called upon to intervene. A magisterial recount is triggered when the result of an election in any constituency is challenged after the final count is announced.

Justice Opal Smith said voters should refrain from getting creative with the ballots, so as to ensure a smooth process.

“The most interesting part of the counting is in relation to the actual ballots themselves and how the voters mark the ballots. The legislation refers to a cross that should be marked by a lead pencil; I would encourage voters to stick to as closely as possible making a cross on the ballot paper in the relevant section, and that no creativity should enter the process. A cross is a cross, stick to one cross and move on. We in the courts have had experiences of persons putting things other than crosses [or even] several crosses and other works of art on the ballot paper. I would encourage our voters to stick to the cross,” she said.

In the meantime, all parish court judges were last Wednesday engaged in a seminar to ensure that all are aware of the legislation in relation to magisterial recounts — the procedures, what they are to look out for in relation to how the recounts are conducted, how to conclude them, and what must be done to indicate that, in fact, they have been concluded.

“We don’t know how many parish court judges are going to be involved in recounts; however, we are ensuring that all the parish court judges are aware as to the procedure and the allocations that are to be made. We want to make sure that our courts are prepared before elections; before the first person has cast a vote we are prepared to deal with all issues related to it — and this is not only for the parish courts,” Justice Shelly-Williams emphasised.

“We have also made preparations in relation to challenges that may be made at the Supreme Court as well, whether it be for judicial reviews or election petition applications at the Supreme Court. We are ready to proceed in relation to all issues, whether it is at the parish court level or the Supreme Court… we are trained and we are on alert for all eventualities,” the senior puisne judge told the Observer.

Jamaicans are voting in the 19th general election since 1944, as well as three local government by-elections. The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) on Tuesday said today’s voting will take place in 7,294 polling stations at 2,153 locations across the island, with the polls opening at 7:00 am and closing at 5:00 pm, after which the preliminary counting of ballots will take place inside the polling stations.

There are 190 candidates in total, with 184 contesting the general election and six contesting the by-elections. Four registered political parties are contesting the elections — Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), Jamaica Progressive Party (JPP), People’s National Party (PNP) and the United Independents’ Congress (UIC).

The election will be observed by local observer group Citizens Action for Free & Fair Elections (CAFFE) and international missions from the Organization of American States (OAS), the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and smaller delegations including the British High Commission, the United States Embassy, and the European Union.

The election will be monitored by the Election Centre, which is a hub for receiving and validating reports on incidents on the ground and providing resolutions, as well as issuing reports to the media where necessary. The Constituted Authority, which comes into effect whenever an election notice is issued and has the ability to halt or void elections where deemed necessary, will oversee the election.

The Electoral Commission of Jamaica in June said there was a total 2,077,799 registered voters on the national voters’ list published on May 31, 2025.