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Article 53 Blackout: Nov 18 00:00 – Nov 28 16:00 10-Day Statutory Ban Fines up to NT$2,000,000

Taiwan Election Poll Blackout 2026: No Polls From Nov 18 to Nov 28 (Article 53 Explained)

Taiwan's election poll blackout is a statutory ban under Article 53 of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act: from 00:00 on November 18, 2026 until voting closes at 16:00 on November 28, 2026 (Taipei time), no political party or person may publish, report, disseminate, comment on, or quote election or candidate opinion-poll data by any means.

Election Notice
Aug 20, 2026
Notice issued 100 days before voting [S4]; statutory disclosure rules apply.
Disclosure Window
Aug 20 – Nov 17
8 items required; non-compliant polls or resembling items barred [S1].
Blackout Starts
Nov 18, 00:00
Quiet period begins 10 days before voting (Taipei time) [S5], [S6].
Voting & Ban Lifts
Nov 28, 16:00
Voting runs 08:00–16:00 (est. ~19.65M eligible voters) [S4]; ban ends at 16:00.

Legal Disclaimer & Research Neutrality Statement

InfoMiner Election Lab provides this explainer strictly for international news reporting, academic inquiry, and civic education. This page is an informational summary of statutory text, not legal advice; the Central Election Commission and courts are authoritative.

1. What Article 53 Actually Says: Three Statutory Paragraphs

Article 53 of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act [S1] governs election polls, translated into English [S2] across three paragraphs:

Paragraph 1: Disclosure Duty Before the Blackout

"From the day public notice of an election is issued or an established recall campaign is declared until ten days before election day, any political party or person who distributes public-opinion survey data related to a candidate, a person subject to recall, or an election campaign or recall campaign shall clearly indicate the organization responsible, the person in charge, when the survey was conducted, the sampling method, the size of the rating scale, sample size, margin of error, and source of funding." [S2]

Summary: From August 20, 2026 [S4] until ten days before voting, published polls must state eight items: responsible organization, person in charge, survey dates, sampling method, population size (where the official translation says "size of the rating scale", the Chinese term 母體數 denotes target population or sampling frame size), sample size, margin of error, and funding source.

Paragraph 2: Ban on Non-Compliant Polls and Resembling Campaign Data

"During the period specified in the preceding paragraph, election campaign or recall campaign survey data that does not contain the items in the preceding paragraph and any other election campaign or recall campaign information that resembles a public-opinion poll shall not be permitted to be published, reported, disseminated, the subject of commentary, or quoted. This shall not apply to political parties with a candidate in the election, candidates, persons who proposed a recall, persons subject to recall who have made their own estimations." [S2]

Summary: During this window, polls missing these items and campaign data resembling a poll cannot be published, reported, disseminated, commented on, or quoted—except parties' or candidates' own estimates.

Paragraph 3: The 10-Day Complete Polling Blackout

"From ten days before election day until the polls close, no political party or person shall be permitted to report, disseminate, comment on, or quote from the materials detailed in the preceding two paragraphs." [S2]

Summary: From Nov 18, 00:00 [S5], [S6] until voting closes at 16:00 on Nov 28 [S4], no party or person may publish, report, disseminate, comment on, or quote poll data by any means.

2. Statutory Penalties: Article 110 Enforcement Schedule

Penalties for violating Article 53 are codified under Article 110 of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act [S3]:

Regulated Category Conduct Defined under Article 53 Statutory Fine under Article 110 [S3]
Political parties and candidates
(and their employees, agents, or users)		 Violating Article 53. Fine of NT$200,000 to NT$2,000,000.
Any other person Violating Article 53. Fine of NT$100,000 to NT$1,000,000.
Joint liability: Candidates Violation of Article 53 by a candidate's employee, agent, or user. Candidate is jointly fined.
Joint liability: Organizations Violation of Article 53 by a party, legal person, or unincorporated group. Both representative and actual actor are jointly fined.

Under Article 110, political parties, candidates, and their employees, agents, or users face fines of NT$200,000 to NT$2,000,000 (candidates are jointly fined for violations by their employees or agents). Any other person faces NT$100,000 to NT$1,000,000. Representatives of organizations are also jointly fined with the actor.

3. Practical Questions & Scope of Application

A. Does it cover old polls already published?

The statute's paragraph 3 refers to "the materials detailed in the preceding two paragraphs" with no exception for previously published polls [S2]. PeoPo guidance advises editors and social-media managers not to repost or cite earlier polls during the blackout [S5].

B. Does it cover social media?

The statute bars sharing the covered poll data "by any means" [S1]. PeoPo guidance explicitly covers newspapers, TV, radio, news websites, and Facebook [S5].

C. Foreign or overseas publishers?

The statutory text addresses "any political party or person" [S2]. This page does not offer a legal opinion on cross-border enforcement; consult Taiwanese counsel or the Central Election Commission.

D. Prediction-market odds or online-discussion volume?

The statute does not name these categories, and InfoMiner offers no legal interpretation; seek guidance from the Central Election Commission.

4. How InfoMiner Election Lab Handles the Blackout

Our English race explainers automatically hide third-party poll figures from Nov 18, 2026 00:00 to Nov 28, 2026 16:00 Taipei time, while official past election results remain visible. InfoMiner measures online discussion, not voting intention. This page makes no claim about how Article 53 applies to online-discussion metrics.

5. Why the Blackout Matters for International Observers

International observers should expect a 10-day period with no newly published polls before November 28, 2026. Campaign claims about being ahead cannot be checked against published polls during this time. Under paragraph 3, election or candidate poll data published during this window would fall within the statutory ban regardless of when the survey was conducted.

6. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. When does Taiwan's election poll blackout start?

Under Article 53, Paragraph 3 of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act, the poll blackout begins at 00:00 on November 18, 2026 and ends when voting closes at 16:00 on November 28, 2026 (Taipei time). During this 10-day period, no party or person may publish, report, disseminate, comment on, or quote poll data by any means.

2. Can I publish or share Taiwan election polls before November 28, 2026?

From the August 20 election notice until November 17, published election polls must include all eight statutory disclosure items (parties' and candidates' own estimates are exempt). From November 18 at 00:00 until voting closes at 16:00 on November 28, Article 53 bars publishing, reporting, disseminating, commenting on or quoting election or candidate poll data by any means.

3. What is the penalty for publishing polls during Taiwan's blackout?

Under Article 110, political parties, candidates, and their employees, agents, or users face fines of NT$200,000 to NT$2,000,000, with candidates jointly fined. Any other person faces NT$100,000 to NT$1,000,000. Representatives of legal persons or organizations are also jointly fined.

4. Does the blackout cover old polls / social media reposts?

Article 53, Paragraph 3 refers to all materials covered by the first two paragraphs and contains no exception for earlier surveys. PeoPo civic-media guidance states that polls already published also should not be reposted, cited or commented on during the blackout, whether in newspapers, TV, radio, news websites or social media such as Facebook.

5. Why are there no Taiwan polls in the last 10 days before the vote?

Article 53, Paragraph 3 of the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act bans publishing, reporting, disseminating, commenting on or quoting election and candidate poll data from ten days before voting day until polls close. Observers should therefore expect no newly published polls from November 18 to 16:00 on November 28, 2026, and late campaign claims cannot be checked against published polls during this window.

7. Official Sources & References