Credible and participatory polls

Observations made during the voting simulation in San Juan last Saturday prompted the Commission on Elections to estimate a waiting time of 30 to 40 minutes for each voter. This may or may not be a problem depending on how the queue is managed.

I assume more simulation exercises will be made in the coming days. And I suggest that Comelec and lawmakers should approach next year’s political exercise with greater attentiveness. Ensure that all bases are covered. That includes knowing what the voters might think and their possible behavior on a range of scenarios.

Our experience has shown that when a COVID-19 variant has had its run and cases began to taper down, no new surge happened until a new and more infectious variant kicks in. So the COVID-19 situation could all depend on how the vaccination program is proceeding. Experts say that SARS-COV2 replicates quicker in unvaccinated people, increasing its chances of mutation into nasty variants.

Let’s assume the worst-case scenario in which we expect a new “variant of concern” or “of high consequence” to kick in early next year. That would result in a surge of COVID-19 cases weeks before and extending up to election day. In that case, there could be a significant segment of the voting population that will think twice about going to the polling stations.

That matter is what the option of early voting can address. In the United States presidential election last year, they had the option of voting by mail and of early voting. In South Korea, early voting took place for two days prior to election day.

The Philippine Constitution states that unless otherwise provided by law, the regular election for president and vice president, and of the senators and the members of the House of Representative shall be held on the second Monday of May. In other words, a law can still be passed providing for early voting ahead of election day. Lawmakers should consider this by now.

The reason is obvious; to encourage wider participation in the polls by giving voters the option to vote ahead of an anticipated crowd during election day. Early voting will also reduce the number of voters expected to gather at the polling stations on election day.

Another important concern is how to treat voters with asymptomatic or mild to moderate COVID-19 cases. Should they still be allowed to vote? Perhaps the Comelec can allot an exclusive time in the evening, after the regular voting hours, for these patients to vote. This was what they did in South Korea in the 2020 elections.

Let not our lack of preparation and anticipation of possible scenarios be an excuse for anti-democratic forces to float the idea of postponing the elections. Elections still happened in other countries during the pandemic. In fact in Singapore, the ruling party decided in favor of early elections in order to give its leaders a fresh mandate to manage the pandemic crisis.

In South Korea, election officials were expecting a lower turnout for the 2020 elections. However, the voter turnout figures indicated the opposite, the highest since 1992. Voters came in large numbers and patiently waited for their turn to vote. Many of them, perhaps, were determined to either give a fresh mandate to their leaders who did well during the pandemic, or kick them out of office for bungling their jobs during this crisis.

The point is that there should be no room to allow sinister forces to abuse the difficulty of holding elections to extend the mandates of corrupt and inept elective officials.