Digital identity becomes option for most Singaporeans when they vote

Singapore has inaugurated the use of digital IDs to verify their identity when voting.

Voters will be free to use their National Registration Identity Card to vote in the presidential election in September as they ordinarily would do, or they can leave the card at home and use the nation’s ID app, Singpass.

According to reporting by The Straits Times, 4.5 million residents are enrolled in Singpass, which is a single sign-on ID for other services such as marriage certificates, financial assistance and public health records.

There are 2.7 million eligible voters. It is not apparent how many are likely to use the five-year-old Singpass program.

Several conditions, enumerated by The Times, would require a voter to bring a national ID card with them to the booth.

Independent ID vendor Okta this spring said in spring it had integrated with the Singpass app. At the same time, Singapore made the licenses of professional drivers digital only.

National digital identity systems have also been discussed for voter verification in Australia and elsewhere, but the application is still largely untested.

Article Topics

digital ID  |  elections  |  identity verification  |  mobile app  |  national ID  |  Singapore  |  Singpass  |  voter accreditation