Referendum on abolishing non‑nuclear families linked to year‑end nine‑in‑one election; budget increased 810 million.

The Central Election Commission (CEC) held a routine committee meeting today to review three national referendum proposals recently passed by the Legislative Yuan and to plan subsequent election administration. Following a rigorous review and discussion process by the committee, it was ultimately confirmed that only the "Abolish the Non-Nuclear Homeland" referendum proposal complied with relevant regulations and was approved. It was also determined that the vote will be held concurrently with the nationwide nine-in-one local public officials elections on November 28 this year. This decision not only establishes the scale of election administration for the year-end battle, but also means that Taiwanese voters must once again make a direct public choice regarding the direction of national energy policy while shaping the blueprint for local governance.

Regarding the election administration costs of merging the referendum with the local elections, CEC Chairperson Yu Ying-lung candidly admitted at a post-meeting press conference that due to the necessity of adding ballot boxes for the referendum, printing dedicated ballots, hiring additional election staff, and conducting comprehensive polling station traffic planning, adding this single referendum proposal alone will incur an additional expenditure of NT$810 million. This massive expenditure of public funds has once again sparked discussions across all sectors of society regarding whether referendums and general elections should be held concurrently. In the past, when Taiwan held nine-in-one elections concurrently with referendums, complex election administration led to the chaos of vote counting and voting occurring simultaneously. With the CEC once again bundling the referendum with the general elections this time, how to strike a balance between massive financial expenditures and electoral efficiency will test the contingency response capabilities of the election administration agency.

Despite facing challenges such as soaring budgets and complex election administration, Yu Ying-lung displayed a high degree of confidence when questioned by the media. He publicly emphasized that all colleagues at the CEC have 100 percent confidence in handling the concurrent voting and counting for this general election and referendum, even using the English word "absolutely" to express their resolute determination to press forward. Yu pointed out that having experienced numerous large-scale elections and referendums, the CEC has accumulated considerable practical experience. Regarding aspects such as traffic flow planning, vote-counting speed, and personnel deployment, sand table simulations and refinements have already been carried out to ensure that the year-end voting and counting operations proceed smoothly and peacefully.

From a historical perspective, ever since the Referendum Act underwent major revisions that lowered the threshold, the interactive relationship between referendums and general elections has become a focus of debate in political and legal circles. The 2018 nine-in-one elections were bundled with ten referendum proposals at the same time. At that time, due to an excessive number of voters and poor ballot-claiming routes, long queues appeared at polling stations all over Taiwan, and even controversial scenes of people voting while votes were being counted emerged. Having learned a painful lesson from that year, the Legislative Yuan subsequently amended the law to decouple referendums from general elections, stipulating that referendums be held every two years. However, with party-political maneuvering and the flow of public opinion, referendum proposals knocked on the door once again and successfully intersected with the local elections in this review.

The "Abolish the Non-Nuclear Homeland" referendum passed this time points directly to Taiwan's highly controversial energy transition policy in recent years. With mounting pressure from global climate change and net-zero carbon emissions, Taiwan has constantly struggled between a non-nuclear homeland and stable power supply, and the issues of nuclear decommissioning and license extension further affect industrial development and livelihood electricity consumption. Holding this highly controversial policy-based referendum concurrently with the elections for local magistrates, mayors, and councilors will inevitably create a spillover effect on the year-end electoral landscape. The moment voters walk into the polling station, they are not only choosing capable and virtuous individuals, but also taking a stance on Taiwan's future energy direction, which infuses the local-level nine-in-one elections with a strong coloration of national policy confrontation.

Overall, the CEC's final decision to merge the "Abolish the Non-Nuclear Homeland" referendum with the nine-in-one elections on November 28 not only forces the national treasury to bear an additional NT$810 million, but also pushes the complexity of election administration to another peak. Although Yu Ying-lung has shown 100 percent confidence, the CEC's subsequent administrative preparations will be put to a severe test in balancing efficiency and fairness amid massive crowds of voters. This large-scale election combining local governance and energy policy will also once again examine the maturity of Taiwan's democratic system and the rational choices of its voters.