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Voters beware: no second chance allowed in May polls
People who commit mistakes deserve a second chance. But not those who will err in casting their votes in the May elections.
HOW TO ACCOMPLISH THE BALLOT 1. The voter shall, using a ballot secrecy folder and the marking pen provided by the Comelec, fill his ballot by fully shading the oval beside the names of the candidates and political party participating in the party list system of representation of his choice. 2. The voter shall then approach the PC0S, insert his ballot in the ballot entry slot and wait until the ballot is dropped into the ballot box. The BEI shall monitor the PCOS screen to make sure that the ballot was successfully accepted. Thereafter, the voter shall return the ballot secrecy folder and marking pen to the chairman. 3. The chairman shall apply indelible ink at the base and extending to the cuticle of the right forefinger nail of the voter, or any other nail if there be no forefinger nail. 4. The voter shall affix his thumbmark on the corresponding space in the election day computerized voters list or EDCVL. 5. The voter shall then leave the polling place. Source: Section 35 of Comelec Resolution No. 8739
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is advising voters to make their lists and check them twice before going to the polling precincts because there will be no spare ballots for voters who commit mistakes. "Ngayon pa lang ay sinasabi na natin, dapat magdala sila ng kodigo. Makakatulong po nang malaki sa kanila kung may kodigo sila para pagdating ng botohan… ifi-fill out na lang ang balota," explained the poll body’s spokesman James Jimenez, director of the Comelec’s Education and Information Department, in a recent interview with media. (We are advising the voters to prepare a list of their candidates. The list will help them easily fill out the ballots.) Starting February 7, the National Printing Office will be printing about 50 million ballots, approximately the same as the total number of registered voters for the May polls. The printing is expected to be completed within 60 to 70 days. Like the ‘touch-move’ in chess Jimenez has likened the use of the ballot to the “touch-move" rule in chess: once a player touches the piece, he or she ought to move it. "Talagang mula't mula po ang sinasabi natin, touch-move po tayo dito. Isang balota lang sa bawa't isang botante," said Jimenez. (We’ve been saying since the start that this is touch-move. There will only be one ballot per voter.) The Comelec’s one ballot per voter policy is being questioned by some poll watchdogs. The groups claim that many voters are expected to commit mistakes due to their low awareness on the new automated system that will be used in the May polls. A survey conducted by Pulse Asia from Oct. 22 to 30, 2009 released to the public last December showed that about six of 10 Filipinos had little or no knowledge about the automated polls. Error, fraud-free system Election lawyer Louie Guia of the non-government Lawyers’ League for Liberty is among those who believe that some votes will go to waste because majority of Filipinos are unfamiliar with the new ballots. Guia has suggested that the Comelec print extra ballots. "Sa atin first time mangyayari ito. Sasabihin na lang ba natin na malas na lang ‘yung mga magkakamali? Baka naman p’wedeng mag-allow ng konting provision for replacing the ballots for legitimate errors or mistakes committed by voters," he told GMANews.TV in a recent interview. (We are doing this for the first time. Are we going to say that those who will commit mistakes in voting are just unfortunate? Maybe it is possible to allow some provisions for replacing the ballots for legitimate errors or mistakes committed by voters.) Other groups, meanwhile, are not only concerned about the problem on voter awareness. They claim that the new voting system itself is a cause for alarm because until now, less than 100 days before the polls, the Comelec could still not ensure that the new system will be both error- and fraud-free. “The justification of the computerized system is that it will eliminate cheating. They claim to have safeguards in place, like the ballots supposedly having barcodes specific to each voter. So, saying that they will not print extra ballots does not make sense," lawyer Romel Regalado Bagares of the Automated Election Watch told GMANews.TV in another interview. 
Comelec illustrates how the voting process will be completed in the May elections.
