Indonesians living in Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia in the United States will cast their ballots for the 2024 general election on Feb. 10, four days before their compatriots back home.

Andang Purnama, head of the Overseas Election Committee (PPLN) in Washington DC, explained that the voting date had been moved forward because most Indonesians in the area would be working on Feb. 14, which falls on a Wednesday.

“Most of them work, and when they work, access to the embassy or the polling station is quite difficult [...] so the committee decided to hold the election on the 10^th,” Andang said, as reported by Antara News.

He said 1,700 voters in Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia were registered on the final voter list (DPT) for the 2024 election. They could vote in one of three ways: by going directly to polling stations at specified points, voting through the mobile ballot box (KSK) or sending in their ballots by mail.

He said 1,227 of the voters (491 men and 736 women) had said they would go to the polling station and 473 voters (168 men and 305 women) had opted to vote by mail.

Andang added that the PPLN would put particular focus on accommodating voters with disabilities, as well as those who were sick, pregnant, elderly or had special needs. He said the committee would ensure they could cast their votes without any issue.

Andang acknowledged the challenge of informing potential voters of the early polling date as the registration deadline was earlier than in previous elections. 

“The registration for the 2019 election closed in September 2018, while the registration deadline for the 2024 election was June 2023,” said Andang.

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