Bersih's website down after posting info on overseas voting

The announcement on the dissolution of Parliament has led to a flood of traffic to Bersih's website, causing it to crash late yesterday evening.

Bersih executive director Yap Swee Seng told Malaysiakini that a large number of Malaysians residing abroad could have attempted to access the website. The site is back up this morning.

Earlier yesterday, Bersih posted an article on its website with simple instructions on how to register as a postal voter for those residing abroad.

Below is Bersih's advice for potential postal voters, in full. Please be advised that the deadline for applications is midnight on Sunday, Malaysian time:

Information from the Election Commission (EC)

1. Voters must apply to become postal voters by filling in and submitting Form 1B (You may download it here).

2. Successful postal voters will receive their ballots after nomination day.

3. These ballots will be posted to the address stated in Form 1B, as requested by the voter in the form.

4. Postal voters will receive priority mail which carries Envelope A, Envelope B and Form 2 (Borang 2).

5. Envelope B contains the voting ballots. If your constituency is not a Federal Territory, you will see two ballots: One in white for your parliamentary candidate and one in pinkfor your state legislative assembly candidate.

6. Make sure to mark your choice with an "X", and once done, insert your ballot into Envelope A.

7. Proceed to fill up Form 2.

8. Once you have marked both your ballots and filled up Form 2, insert Form 2 and Envelope A containing your marked ballots into Envelope B.

9. Post it to the Returning Officer's (RO) Office. The address is printed on the envelope.

Bersih's recommendation

1. If possible, return to Malaysia and vote as a regular voter. This is the best way to ensure that your vote is secure.

2. If you are unable to return and cast your vote in person, here is our advice:

2.1. Once you receive the voting ballots, immediately cast your vote and mail it back using a courier service to ensure that your vote reached the returning officer (RO) within the specified time limit.

2.2. We suggest the use of a courier service because as a voter, you will now be able to track your ballot via live tracking. More importantly, the RO will need to sign a confirmation of receipt with the courier service provider. This will serve as proof that your vote reached the RO.

2.3. Make sure that your ballots are posted as soon as possible and that it arrives at least two days before polling day.

3. However, if you would like to send your ballots to a family member and have them deliver it to the Returning Officer's Office, Bersih recommends that you contact the EC at 03-88810081 for a further explanation of the process. This is because the polling centre and RO's office may be announced as a restricted area on polling day.

Further information

For now, postal voting is the only alternative to overseas Malaysians who will not be returning to vote at the upcoming elections.

You may download the postal voting application form (Form 1B) here. This link will redirect you to the form uploaded on the Election Commission’s website.

You may send the completed form via email to upup@spr.gov.my. You will also receive a response informing you that your application has been received and is currently being processed. - Mkini