Taiwan's Legislative Yuan may pass an opposition-sponsored amendment to the Referendum Act on its third reading this Friday, printing multiple referendum questions on a single ballot. The Central Election Commission strongly opposes the move, which is bad news for election administration bodies.

• The amendment pushed by the Kuomintang and Taiwan People's Party caucuses would require all referendum questions to be printed on one ballot once their number exceeds a certain threshold.
• CEC Chairman Yu Ying-lung has publicly opposed the change, saying its benefits are illusory while its drawbacks are real, and has called for it to be put on hold.
• He warned that hasty legislation would turn into a disaster, and that lawmaking should be built on solid research rather than sudden inspiration.
• The Kaohsiung City Election Commission said it was not in a position to comment while the bill remains unsettled, and that it would carry out the measure once the CEC issues uniform instructions.

Outlook: If the amendment clears the legislature on Friday, election authorities will be forced to redesign ballots and operating procedures in a short space of time, and the controversy is likely to continue.