Comelec to conduct nationwide mock polls

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will hold mock elections in some areas of the country tomorrow to assess possible scenarios in the coming May 13 polls.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez yesterday said the poll body will pilot-test the voter registration verification machines (VRVMs) in selected voting centers during the mock polls.

Jimenez said the mock elections would be conducted in 60 pre-determined polling precincts nationwide for the Comelec to determine the “end-to-end operations” of the automated election system (AES).

“The mock elections will test and ensure the security features, accuracy, integrity and functional capabilities of the elements of the AES,” Jimenez said at a press conference.

He said 8,500 voters are expected to participate in the mock elections, which will be conducted from 6 a.m. to noon in clustered polling precincts with 100 voters each.

The mock polls in three clustered precincts in Quezon City, Manila and Pasig will be from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and are expected to draw about 1,000 voters.

Aside from the three cities, the mock elections will also be held in clustered precincts in Pateros, Muntinlupa, Taguig and Valenzuela.

The same events will be held in the provinces of Cagayan, Camarines Sur, Pangasinan and Sorsogon, all in Luzon; Bohol and Cebu in the Visayas, and Basilan, Davao del Sur, South Cotabato, Sulu and Zamboanga del Norte in Mindanao.

The Comelec has identified public schools that would serve as voting centers, except in the clustered precincts in Basilan and Sulu.

A total of 90 vote counting machines (VCMs) including 30 backup units, 86 consolidation and canvassing system laptops, 44 modems, 60 batteries and 60 old ballots will be used in the activity tomorrow.

Voters participating in the mock polls will choose among the names of sports teams, bands, athletes and celebrities printed on the ballots.

Jimenez said the Comelec is also pilot-testing the VRVMs in select areas in Pasig, Quezon City, Manila, Cebu, Cavite, Davao del Sur and Zamboanga del Sur.

In polling precincts where the VRVMs will be used, voters will just have to affix their fingerprints in order to obtain their ballots.

If the machine fails, their names will be checked in the printed copies of the election day computerized voters list (EDCVL).

Since it will be the first time that the VRVMs will be used, Jimenez said, a slight delay is expected in the voting time. He said that on the actual election day, the new technology is expected to hasten the voting.

Jimenez said the VRVMs that the Comelec is using to prevent flying voters would not require internet connections and could work with its own memory.

He said the canvassing and transmission of votes will immediately follow the close of voting hours.

In the coming elections, the poll body also opted to adopt slight changes in the ballots and the voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) or voter receipts.

Unlike in the past elections, candidates for senators and local positions will be written at the front face of the ballots while the party-list groups will be at the back.

Previously, the names of candidates seeking national positions were printed in front of the ballots while local bets occupy the back.

The change was meant to optimize the space of the ballot, the Comelec said.

The VVPAT for the coming polls will contain the QR Code and system hash.

Jimenez said there are also enhancements in the “backend” part of the voting machines.

Campaign posters

Although violative of election regulations, the Comelec conceded that campaign posters are here to stay and will even proliferate nationwide.

In an interview on Wednesday night with “The Chiefs” on Cignal TV’s One News, Jimenez said that posters of candidates are unlikely to be taken down until the official start of the campaign on Feb. 13.

But when the campaign period begins, Jimenez said candidates must abide by the election rules on the proper size of posters. He said the campaign materials should be posted only in common poster areas identified by the Comelec.