A volunteer’s observation

We’ve been very pessimistic about these elections. We were expecting mammoth disasters that might involve any or some of the following:

- martial law

- hacked PCOS machines / corrupted cards

- pocket riots

- PCOS machines conking out

- disenfranchised voters

And it’s true, there were some depressing incidents. At least eight people perished due to elections. Some machines did conk out. Some election precincts actually failed in transmitting the results. But because of the automation, things happened so fast that there were only glitches and cheating was kept to a minimum. Perhaps cheating happened outside the precinct but I can’t imagine it happening inside the machines. Maybe the cheaters will figure this out in the next elections, but not this year.

San Beda Alabang. Already printing out results at 9pm

I’m being asked to write a report about what happened in our Cupang precinct and no I won’t be publishing that here but I realized it would also be good if we not only have informed volunteers but informed voters as well.

A few pointers for future elections:

1. If time is at your disposal (and to many it is, since it’s a non-work day), vote AFTER LUNCH. I don’t know why everybody wants to vote first thing in the morning. Everyone is still getting used to the process, automated or not. You will not run out of ballots. You will not be less responsible if you do it later in the day.
2. Bring your voter’s ID. If you don’t have one, bring an ID. Or even better, bring proof that you’re registered. It’s the easiest way to figure out your way into the maze of polling centers. But it would be best if…
3. You find out your precinct and your cluster before you go to the polling center. You can find out in your parish, in your barangay hall, and even online! I’m still trying to figure out though why many of the late registrants weren’t on the list. It’s baffling that a lot of the late registrants were still disenfranchised. I don’t have an answer to this except I know that it’s frustrating but cursing volunteers to high heavens will not put your name on the book of voters.
4. Come equipped! Bring a kodigo–list of the people you’re voting for. Bring bottled water and maybe snacks.
5. If you’re disenfranchised or if you witness anything that you’re suspicious about, please file a protest. You may approach a volunteer or a Comelec official. It’s a little tedious because you have to file a protest/challenge form but this is helpful because it’s on record and this can be the basis of evaluations that will help improve elections.
6. Bear in mind that the volunteers are just people who can assist you, not help you vote. And the BEI (Board of Election Inspectors) are just teachers who are aiding Comelec to help you vote. They also need their lunchbreaks, their toilet breaks and recess breaks. If they’re doing a good job, please do tell them. If you’re unhappy with their job, be a little more patient. They’re hardly getting paid (only 3k for that day), and they’re doing this for the same reasons you’re voting–civic duty. So let’s be nice to them. They might not even be able to vote! Because they might be assigned to a precinct where they’re supposed to vote. (This is another issue altogether and deseves a full entry).

But overall, it’s been smooth and relatively peaceful. I’m so proud of the Pinoys! And as much as there are kinks that need to be smoothened out, I would say most of us feel overwhelmed by the success of the elections. No more manual counting! No more dagdag-bawas! Hi-tech! So maybe it’s not over yet but the worst is over I think. Election-wise.