Mock Poll Yesterday is “Almost Perfect” but Voters are Poorly Informed
The Commission on Election (COMELEC) conducted a mock election yesterday morning in 5 cities nationwide. The mock election is practically considered “almost perfect” the technical side but it also shows that the voters are poorly informed of the new system of voting.
The mock polls yesterday allowed up to 50 voters in 9 precincts in 5 cities nationwide to go through the entire process of automated voting. It runs from the shading the sample ballots, feeding ballots on to the machines, and witnessing the transmission of the data from the election machine to the Comelec servers.
Based on the observation of the poll officials assigned in 9 precincts, the technical aspect of automated voting runs smoothly, but there are concerns on coming from the voters that should be given more attention.
Election director for National Capital Region, Michael Dioneda, said that most voters in the mock election were not clearly informed on how to properly handle the ballots. There were errors in marking the ballots. As a result 5 ballots in Quezon City and 3 in Taguig City were not accepted by the election machines. These ballots will be brought to Comelec for further studying.
According to Dir. Dioneda, “massive voters education” is indeed needed as the automated elections come near. He added that some voters complained about the small fonts of the ballots, and noted the need to install a projector at the city canvassing to let watchers view the counting process.
In an interview with the Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal, he said that another set of mock elections, this time in rural areas, might be set in the coming days.
