OAV ballots returned to sender in LA, NY, Chicago

CHICAGO–Overseas absentee ballot envelopes were “returned-to-sender" as the voters failed to notify the respective Philippine Consulates of their forwarding address. Rosabelle Q. Toledo, administrative officer of the Philippine Consulate in Chicago, Illinois, and the person in charge of the Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group, told this reporter there were 1,000 overseas absentee voting that were returned to the Philippine Consulate in the last few weeks. But when Toledo resent the envelopes the consulate received 270 returned-to-sender envelopes again. “This means that 630 envelopes were received by the voters. Let’s hope that these voters will resend the ballots back as soon as possible." The consul would have to receive the resent ballots next Monday in Chicago so that the votes could be counted. Consul Orontes V. Castro, chairman of Special Board of Election Inspectors in the Midwest Philippine Consulate, said overseas absentee voters can send their respective ballots by mail or personally go to the Philippine consulate. The canvassing would start at 5 a.m. Central Time, May 10, with the timing synchronized with the closing of the polls at 6 p.m., May 10, in the Philippines. Out of more than 5,000 registered voters in Chicago, at least 20 percent or 1,000 had cast their votes, Castro said. Absentee voters who would like to know if their ballots were returned to the Philippine Consulate could visit the www.chicagopcg.com and check their names. There was no response from the people in-charge of the Overseas Absentee Voting in the San Francisco and Los Angeles consulates in California. However, a trunkline operator in Los Angeles, who said his name is Amor, confirmed numerous ballot envelopes were also “returned-to-sender." Lawyer Loida Nicolas Lewis of New York City said she was informed that 800 to 1,000 overseas absentee ballot envelopes “came back to the Philippine Consulate in New York." It seems that the absentee voters were not instructed to notify the Philippine consulate of their new forwarding address, according to Lewis. She said the Philippine Congress should open overseas registration “year-round just like what they do in the United States" to address the problem. Filipino absentee voters, who changed addresses, have to fill up a form – Comelec Change of Address Form – have it notarized and submit it during the registration period. The form is downloadable from the Commission on Elections website. Overseas Filipino voters were given six months from Feb. 1 to Aug. 31, 2009 to register using forms also downloadable from the Philippine Commission on Elections website. –SVD, GMANews.TV