ELECTION 2010: Comelec's counting machines in action
Here's a special sneak peek for the patriotic geek. Comelec and Smartmatic were kind enough to demo their counting machines, and we have exclusive video footage just for you.
You might have heard that the 2010 polls will be the first fully automated elections in Philippine history. Naturally, concerns of whether or not Filipinos will be able to grasp the newfangled concept will come up. In fact, they already have.
However, upon seeing the new system – the ballot in particular – we can safely say that voting will be easier and faster than ever. And for the record, nobody told us to say that.
Contrary to what many expect, we will not be voting directly through a computer. We will still be voting on paper which will then be fed to the computer/counting machine. The new ballot is neatly laid out and easy to understand, so if you know how to shade a circle, you will be able to vote.
The machines are able to intelligently detect under-voting and over-voting. If this happens, it will either reject the ballot as shown in the video or accept it but with the erroneous field voided (e.g. voted 15 senators instead of just 12 = senatorial vote field is scrapped).
As mandated by law, the counting machine will still print eight (8) copies of the election returns which will then be given to various bodies and parties for manual cross-checking. Meanwhile, the machine will transmit data to servers at the municipal and national levels for the real-time tallying of votes. In as little as 48 hours, a new set of officials may be proclaimed.
The machines have various fail-safe systems, most notably the 16-hour battery backup that kicks in in the event of a blackout. In case of hardware failure, Smartmatic guarantees that a backup machine will be made available in about an hour or two. They also guarantee that the machines – all 80,136 of them – will make it to all precincts nationwide (including Lanao) come election day. In the likely event that a machine fails to reach its destination, the Comelec is prepared to do an old-fashioned manual count.
Complementing this huge undertaking are two websites that are focused mainly on voter education: bagongbotante.ph, a community site, and ibanangayon.ph (to be launched on November 13), a national voter-education site which is aimed to teach voters both new and old about the new system.
This is it, people. Do not take this for granted. The future of the country lies in our high-tech hands. Spread the word!
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Also, the machine does print out a copy of the election returns (receipt) so they can be verified not only by the voters but by Namfrel and political parties as well. We apologize if the printing of the receipt was not captured on video.