Controversy Over Japan's Introduction of 'Mobile Polling Stations' Visiting Elderly Homes... Pilot Operation Preparation Underway

Tsukuba City Introduces Polling Stations Visiting Homes Directly
Considering Voter Turnout Decline Amid Electoral District Mergers Due to Aging Population and Population Decline

In Japan, which is experiencing population decline and regional extinction, a mobile polling station system is set to be introduced to accommodate elderly voters who cannot travel to distant polling stations due to the consolidation of electoral districts. Although some concerns have been raised about the difficulty of ensuring the fairness of voting, this measure is being evaluated as a desperate strategy to prevent a decline in voter turnout caused by severe aging.

On the 4th, Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei) reported that the government will begin a pilot operation of this system in the 2024 Tsukuba mayoral and city council elections in Ibaraki Prefecture. Voters can reserve their polling place in advance via the internet. Considering elderly voters who are not familiar with internet use, telephone reservations are also accepted. During the voting period, a van carrying ballot boxes will visit the reserved locations directly, and it can even visit private properties such as home yards.

Mobile bus polling station introduced in the mountainous region of Nagano Prefecture last March. (Photo by NHK)

Voting will take place inside the vehicle, and as with regular polling stations, city officials and other observers will ride along to oversee the voting process, Nikkei reported. It is also possible to check the current location of the voting vehicle through a smartphone application (app).

In Tsukuba City, if there is insufficient parking space near a voter's home, a service is being considered to send a vehicle to the nearest polling station so that voters can easily board and travel.

This is to encourage voting among elderly people and others who find it difficult to travel to polling stations. According to Nikkei, the voter turnout for the 2020 Tsukuba mayoral and city council elections was a record low of 51.60%, and according to city surveys, the turnout among those aged 80 and over was even lower, at about 40%. Elderly voters who did not go to vote expressed complaints such as "I cannot walk up to the polling station on the hill."

Interior of the mobile bus polling station introduced in the mountainous region of Nagano Prefecture last March. (Photo by NHK)

Additionally, the reduction in the number of polling stations due to population decline has been pointed out as a problem. In last year’s Japanese House of Councillors election, about 46,000 polling stations were opened, which is about 1,000 fewer than in the previous 2019 election, representing a 2% consolidation of electoral districts.

In response, Shimane Prefecture first introduced mobile polling stations in 2016, and in the 2021 House of Representatives election, 59 local governments adopted mobile polling stations. However, since most were set up separately in public facilities or private parking lots, there were still criticisms that they were far from voters’ living areas.

Under Japan’s current Public Offices Election Act, the introduction of mobile polling stations is legally possible, but there are detailed regulations such as the requirement to notify the installation location of mobile polling stations in advance. In the case of Tsukuba City, designated as a "Super City-type National Strategic Special Zone" that uses advanced technology to solve social issues, these regulations can be omitted. This has made it possible to introduce mobile polling stations that freely visit voters’ homes.

Tsukuba City is also considering a method of internet voting using this special exception, but there are still challenges to be addressed regarding the function of secret ballots, making its introduction difficult at this time.

Professor Harumichi Yuasa of Meiji University told Nikkei, "The burden on elderly people who have to travel to polling stations can directly lead to a decline in voter turnout," adding, "After mobile polling stations, realizing internet voting and other measures to solve this issue is an urgent task."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.