Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — From April 9 to May 9, Filipinos overseas will go to embassies and consulates to cast their ballots.
Some 1.3 million of them registered to vote for this round of elections — the highest number of Filipino overseas voters, ever.
Like most Filipino voters, majority of them will use the new vote-counting machines.
But they may get something voters in the Philippines will not: ballot receipts.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Andres “Andy” Bautista said on Tuesday (February 23) that the poll body was considering this given the fact that overseas Filipinos would be having a span of 30 days to vote.
Bautista said this would give them ample time to print receipts.
Comelec doesn’t want voters in the Philippines to get receipts for two reasons. One, it may encourage vote-buying. Voters may use the receipt to sell their votes to candidates. And two, it will take time to print and then read those receipts.
A voter may only take a minute or less with the receipt. But multiply that by 800 voters for every precinct and you see how it adds up.
But different voices — including senatorial candidate Richard Gordon — demand that voters get those receipts.
They say the law requires a paper trail of votes.
Related: Gordon wants ballot receipts issued to voters
But Comelec says the ballots themselves serve as the paper trail.
Bautista said it didn’t help that Philippine elections were synchronized.
Domestic voters pick candidates for 18,000 national and local positions — all on the same day.
But the poll body cannot change this because it’s in the law.
Comelec allows staggered voting in other countries because voters will have to take time going to polling centers, usually embassies and consulates.
There will be automated polls in 30 Philippine posts — in Asia, Europe, North and South America, and the Middle East.
These are places with large Filipino communities.
Elsewhere, polls will be manual — involving over 180,000 voters.
Comelec and the Foreign Affairs department are training ambassadors and consuls on how to run and manage polls.
Bautista said the poll body would announce whether they would indeed print receipts or not for overseas absentee voters — soon.
