Comelec mock vote preview
of automation joys and woes

text and video
by Justine Espina-Letargo
and Aura Marie Dagcutan

A fortnight ago, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Smartmatic/TIM venture conducted a simulation of the automated elections system at the Bonifacio Javier National High School in Mandaluyong City.

The exercise was conducted to test the new voting procedure using the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine and the preparedness of the Comelec for managing situations that could go wrong.

And quite a number of things did go wrong – voters arriving in trickles and in much smaller numbers than expected, photographers and cameramen swamping the voting booth and unduly stretching the process, the machine conking out because of a loose plug, and voters taking a much longer time to fill out their ballot.

As should happen on election day, May 10, 2010, the mock vote was scheduled from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. But the voters came in trickles in the early hours of the simulation. By 3:30 p.m., less than a hundred registered voters had arrived. The Comelec had expected as many as 800 registered voters from five precincts in Mandaluyong City to take part in the exercise.

At most six voters were allowed inside the polling booth, which meant that for the 11-hour voting schedule, at most 66 voters would have been allowed to cast their vote. The simulation exercise was designed by the Comelec as a time-and-motion study to determine the average time it took each voter to complete the voting process using the PCOS machine.

“Clockers” from the Comelec noted that senior citizens took longer than younger voters to complete the process. Reporters, photographers and cameramen who covered the mock voting jostled and pushed for position around the voting booth. The media attention, Comelec representatives noted, may have unduly stretched the process as the participants became conscious that they were being photographed.

At one point, the PCOS machine stopped working because its cable plug had come loose from the electric outlet it was attached to. Comelec employees turned to a time-tested remedy – they used layers of electrical tape to make sure that the cable would not come off again.

Earlier, a similar simulation event was conducted at the poll body’s main office in Manila for 150 Comelec employees as a familiarization exercise.

Apart from Comelec personnel, the Mandaluyong City simulation event was attended by local officials, journalists, and representatives of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).

Still and all, Comelec officials said the simulation exercise was an ideal scenario where voters had ample time to vote and did not have to wait very long to get cast their ballot. On election day, voters typically arrived at voting centers in droves, in the early hours.

Teopisto Elnas, Comelec director for Election and Barangay Affairs, said the poll body had sent letters to 800 voters from five precincts in Mandaluyong inviting them to participate in the simulation. Only a few turned up, prompting Elnas to say that perhaps the invited voters had other matters to attend to during the mock vote that was scheduled on a Saturday, December 5.

In light of the low turnout of voters at the exercise, Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal told the PCIJ that the poll body might consider conducting more simulation exercises in other areas.

“The objective of the simulation is to emphasize that voting in the coming elections will be easier and faster in a more efficient manner,” said Larrazabal. The simulation, he added, is a part of Comelec’s efforts to enhance voter awareness of the automated election system.

Local officials and observers from IFES suggested that the Comelec provide incentives for participants to ensure the simulation’s success. Light snacks were distributed to the voters who joined the simulation exercise that day, as they trooped out of the voting center.

Feedback from Participants

After participating in the Comelec’s mock vote, Leonida Reguiere, 59, now swears by the automated election system. She said she found the new voting process to be faster and more efficient because the voter needs only to shade the oval opposite a candidate’s name. “Unlike in the manual system, there were times in the past elections that I was not able to write all the names of the 12 senators I wanted to vote for,” said Reguiere.

A contrary feedback came from senior citizen Lolita De Leon, 74. She said she had a hard time shading the ovals because these were too small. When asked whether she was able to complete her ballot up to back, Lolita let out a frown. She said nobody had advised her to do so.

Oliva Valenzuela, 74, said she still preferred the manual system of voting because in the ballot for the automated election system, she had a hard time choosing candidates. Her reason: she could not find the names of her preferred candidates on the ballot. For the simulation exercise, the Comelec had used the names of actors, actresses and fictitious persons in the sample ballot provided to the participants.

It took Rosalina Meneses, 80, all of 20 minutes to shade her ballot. When at last she finished the task, after several failed attempts to insert her ballot into the PCOS machine, the Comelec employees and observers gave her a big round of applause. Like the other senior citizens before her, Menses said it took her a while to complete the ballot because she had a hard time reading the names of the candidates that were printed in small fonts.

While voting guidelines prohibit voters from talking to one another while voting is going on, senior citizens were observed to be seeking help from those seated near them, and not from the members of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI).

Richard Reguiere, a barangay tanod in Mandaluyong, said that he participated in the simulation because he wanted to know how the new system works. He reckoned that if all the PCOS machines will not be manipulated after election day, the results may be as reliable as those obtained from manual elections.

Most other voters interviewed by the PCIJ said they found the new system to be faster and more convenient than the old one.

Tips for Voters

On election day, a voter must first find out where he or she must vote by checking his or her name on the registered list of voters posted outside polling precincts. It would be best for a voter to remember the number opposite his or her name on the list.

Upon entering the precinct, the voter should approach any of the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) and verify his or her identity. After verification, the voter should be given a ballot enclosed in a secret folder. The voter is then provided a permanent marker that he or she must use to shade the oval beside the name of the candidate he or she wants to vote for.

The votes will not be counted if a voter shaded more than the number of electoral seats. For example, if more than 12 names are shaded for senators, none of these votes will be counted. However, the rest of the other names that the voter had shaded for other positions will still be counted by the machine.

After completing the ballot, the voter should approach the BEI members who will then proceed to mark his or her finger with indelible ink. The BEI members will also assist in inserting the voter’s ballot into the PCOS machine.

Voters are advised to read the message flashing on the small screen on the right side of the machine. It will first indicate that it is verifying the ballot, and finally confirm that the voter’s ballot has been successfully counted. – PCIJ, December 2009