Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 21) — As the government eyes a more transparent election, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on Friday came up with new suggestions that would help tighten the poll process in 2022.
This comes amid the alleged irregularities of the May 13 polls, which were marred by various technical glitches.
DICT Secretary Eliseo Rio, Jr. said the proposals drew inspiration from the manual counting system.
“‘[The] votes must be seen or how the machine counts must be witnessed,” Rio said in a media briefing.
Instead of reading ballots aloud and tallying votes manually, officials proposed that images of the ballots to be flashed on a screen through a projector, while electronically tabulating votes.
“Dito ipapakita lang (it will just be shown) and everybody will just use their eyes because we can read five times faster with our eyes than we can read through our lips. And kung may makakita nang mali ipo-point out niya (if there’s a mistake, the machine will already point it out.),” Rio added.
Ballot ideas
The department also had several ideas for the ballots.
The first proposal is the “free hand style”—wherein voters would have to manually write the names of the candidates, instead of shading shapes beside the names. The ballots would then be processed and decoded by an identification machine.
Another option is the use of barcode stickers—instead of mere boxes—for the names of the candidate on the ballot. Voters would just need to pick the barcode of their bets, and stick it to the corresponding position.
The third suggestion is for a “scholastic exam style” type of ballot where candidates will have corresponding digit codes. Voters need to shade them accordingly.
Rio said the methods will likewise help cut costs for the government. However, he stressed the proposals will only be possible if lawmakers amend the automated election law.
President Rodrigo Duterte, in a speech in Japan on May 30, advised the Commission on Elections to halt its partnership with technology provider Smartmatic over fraud allegations. The high incidence of defective vote-counting machines, malfunctioning secure digital cards, and a delay in the release of votes during the elections prompted some groups to complain against poll officials’ supposed “mishandling” of tasks.
The DICT has been tasked to search for a replacement for Smartmatic.
CNN Philippines Correspondent Triciah Terada contributed to this report.
