Comelec releases guidelines for local absentee voting

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Wednesday released the rules and regulations for the three-day local absentee voting in late April. Covered by the local absentee voting, to be held from April 24 to 26, are government officials and employees as well as members of the military and police force who will be on election duty in places where they are not registered on May 10, election day. In a resolution promulgated on Monday, the Comelec said that those who wish to avail of the privilege must file their application forms with the head of their office. Application forms may be reproduced or downloaded from the Comelec Web site. The head of the office must then submit to the poll body the accomplished applications and a certified list of their personnel who wish to vote offsite not later than March 7. If approved, they shall be allowed to vote anytime from April 24 to 26 in the place designated by the head of their agency and in the presence of an authorized Comelec representative. Local absentee voters, like their counterparts overseas, are only allowed to vote for national positions. The authorized poll body officer shall distribute the local absentee ballots, envelopes, and paper seals to qualified local absentee voters any day between April 24 and 26. Upon receiving the ballot, an absentee voter must fill it up and imprint his or her thumbmark on the proper space in the detachable coupon of the ballot. He or she must then detach the coupon from the ballot and place the same inside the outer envelope. On the other hand, the voter must place the accomplished ballot inside the inner envelope and close the envelope with a paper seal. He or she must then place the sealed inner envelope inside the outer envelope, which shall likewise be sealed with a paper seal. Lastly, the voter must write his or her name on the outer envelope and then submit it to the head of their agency. The poll body said that the counting of the local absentee ballots will be conducted by special board of election inspectors, similar to that of manual elections. Last December, the Comelec also released the general guidelines for the 2010 polls. - Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV