KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 — Transgenders can vote in the upcoming election even if their MyKad states a different gender, the Election Commission (EC) said.

The Star reported EC Election Academy registrar Nik Aminudin Nik Shahar Shah as saying that a voter who appeared to be a woman, but whose identity card said he is male, would still be permitted to cast a ballot.

Polling clerks might face difficulties in verifying the identity and would inform the presiding officer. The voter would then have to fill and sign Form 11.

"This is to confirm that he or she is the same person in the MyKad, before being allowed to vote. As long as the individual has a valid MyKad and their name is found in the list of registered voters, he or she will not be turned away,” Nik Aminudin was quoted saying.

Voters who accidentally either dirty their ballot paper with indelible ink, mark it wrongly or change their mind after marking, may also ask for a replacement.

"The presiding officer would then declare the vote as void and issue a new ballot paper. The voided paper will be crossed and the word ‘Rosak’ (Spoilt) written on it.

"There is no rule or regulation limiting how many replacement ballot papers a voter can ask for. However the presiding officer at the polling station will have the final say,” said Nik Aminudin.

He added that voters are not allowed to take the voided ballot paper out of the polling station.