IPOH, Nov 19 — With three hours to the end of polling, the voter turnout in Perak for the 15th general election has already exceeded the total voter turnout for Election 2018, reaching 63.6 per cent as of 3pm.

In the latest figure released by the Election Commission (EC), the percentage is equivalent to 1,305,080 votes.

In comparison, the total number of Perak voters who cast their ballot when polling closed in the 14th general election amounted to 1,214,735 people. It was 80.4 per cent of eligible voters back then.

The EC attribute the increase to first-time voters, especially those in the Undi18 category, which saw the law revised to lower the voting age from 21 to 18.

Perak has a total of 2,036,872 voters in GE15. Of these, 2,005,362 are regular voters who cast their ballots on polling day today.

Another 31,291 are deemed early voters who cast their ballots on November 15. There were also 219 absentees (overseas) who sent their ballots in by post.

In 2019, Malaysia amended the Federal Constitution to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 and to also enable automatic voter registration for all those who come of age.

For GE15, Perak has nearly 550,000 young voters, who may play a crucial part in deciding the future government should they all come out to vote.

The state has 111,800 voters between the age of 18 and 20, and 404,336 voters aged between 21 and 29 who are registered to vote today.