The First Philippine Automated Elections
Oddly enough, the Philippines finally had its taste of automated elections in one of the most ‘troubled” areas in Mindanao, the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao or ARMM.
Amid heavy security by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the first automated elections drawn 84% voters turnout, more than twice of the expected 30-40% based on previous elections. The test run of the election automation machines saw action with an added constraint – disruptions due to war. During the elections, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) launched an attack on various areas and settlements including bombing of telecommunication lines, cell site towers and bridges.
There were two types of these election automation machines deployed: the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) and Optical Mark Reader (OMR). Obviously, the former is better as voters are provided with a Voting Pad where the photos of candidates can be selected by pressing on the desired picture. Once the vote is final, a receipt is generated after pressing ‘BOTO‘. The receipt is kept by the Board of Election Inspectors just in case there are complaints raised. However, DRE Technology can only be deployed in areas where communications is available and reliable.
On the other hand, OMR (Optical Mark Reader) Technology uses a specially scanned paper ballot where voters have to shade the oval which corresponds to their candidate of choice using a pencil. The downside of this is there’s a probability that a ballot can be rejected if the OMR Scan machine cannot read the markings.
The Direct Recording Electronic votes can be transmitted electronically to the Counting Centers, while the OMR votes have to be brought in physically to these Counting Centers for processing. So if the MILF are bombing communication towers and bridges, this proved to be a challenge.
Nonetheless, results are now processed faster, in about 36 hours and more than 90% of votes are counted. With these, we hope we see a new and clean elections come 2010. I believe the pilot run is more or less successful, considering the number of constraints these machines were subjected to. One notable attempt to play with the OMR machine was one candidate inserting some photocopies of OMR ballots – but were eventually rejected. LOL. So will we finally bid farewell to DagDag Bawas experts and PHD holders?
Now one big question remains: Will there be elections by 2010? Bummer!
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“Now one big question remains: Will there be elections by 2010?”
very good question! hehehe
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Cyril, since you’re the first one to comment, I hereby nominate you for – Supreme Commander of the Republic. hehe. Thanks dude! Hey make sure you join my contest on the best definition of Bloggista.
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Cguro may election pero di sure kung para san Prime Minister or President…
julers last blog post..Beijing 2008 Olympics Medal Tally Count, Updates and Results
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charniel Replies:
January 20th, 2010 at 11:59 am
hindi naman tayo ang nageelect ng prime minister.. there will be no election in that case kasi and parliament mismo yung pipili ng prime minister…. gets?
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The First Philippine Automated Elections…smooth sailing except for that war…
“Oddly enough, the Philippines finally had its taste of automated elections in one of the most ‘troubled” areas in Mindanao, the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao or ARMM.”…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kItPOx4y_Ok
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Mabilis yung nangyaring botohan ah. 2 days?
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leslie gudayan Replies:
March 1st, 2010 at 1:34 pm
eh panu kong bubumbahin nila ang bahy nyo makakapagboto kapa bah…………………………
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automated election? posible na. kelangan napapanahon na para magkaron ng mabilis na proseso ng botohan.
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_ Cguro mas mabuti na yan para walang dayaan!!!!
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charniel Replies:
January 20th, 2010 at 12:06 pm
no!!! hindi ganyan… mas possible ang dayaan kasi electronic na… mas pinabilis at pinadali…
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_ maganda yan para mas mabilis!!!!
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` hindi parin cguwo mganda ang automated elections for some, because most of the people nowadays are illiterate in manipulating the computer, doesnt even know how to read and write. and, marami nrin ang HACKERS. pwede nilang sirain ang programs ng comp if ever alam nila n wala na silang pagasa,. they may hire EXPERT HACKERS. and, hindi pa ntin alam kung tlga bang matutuloy ang election cause dpa aman tapos ang 2009. hehe. thats all.
)
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nAh..Lala nAh aNg piLipinAS….
f I KNow nAa jApoN nAy dAya…
aS An IT sTUdeNts dLI q FaVOr aNA kY kULAng sA pRepAratiOn.,sAOn nLNg 2ng mgA cOmputER iLLitErate??aLAngAN Og mAgtiNGA!!!!!!!!autOmateD eLectiOn…nGeeerrrrrRRRr!!!!
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Automation may be one of the most significant move the government could take for faster election counting but it doesn’t really assure us that cheating and fraud in the 2010 elections will be eliminate.So,we should also be watchful,let’s protect our vote.
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Automation? Maganda sana ito kung titignan, kaso considering this modern days available ang mga hackers! Kung ang TESDA nga eh nahahack posible din na ma hack ang automation at magalaw ang bilang ng boto… Sana naman wag…
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Yes! this 2010 election is “The First Philippine Automated Elections” I just hope it became successful.
-pia-
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The forthcoming Elections would be successful if both Political candidates & voters would not mess up. It takes 2 to tango, there are people who buy votes & there are people who sell votes.
It is very easy for our people to focus all the blame & insults to our politicians wherein they themselves do not take full responsibility of their own action. Up to now grown ups with premature brain still don’t know how to use public toilets which probably also applies with the private ones, unfortunately.
Some people always blame our government for all the hardship which they are experiencing, like what??? like- having too many children which they cannot support & feed, when they increase their family’s number they are not aware of the damage which they are making.
Could somebody from social welfare take action on this.
I think, the combined effort of our education system & social services are needed to tackle this problem as everytime people are in a chaotic situation & could not resolve their immediate needs, they blame the government, specifically the President which really confuse as what I understand is that, the duty of the President is to govern our country, since when that a President should be blamed just because some of our people cannot be wise enough to open their eyes to see and realize what they can have & what they cannot have, what they should do & what they should not do.
To me, the only solution to our problem is having a good common sense & a Godly heart.
Common guys,it doesn’t matter whether one is rich or poor as wealth & luxuries are temporary.
When they die those who remained honest would rest with a happy soul & a proud family , while the one who had done the wrong things like stealing & cheating might have managed to deny any wrong doings but action & properties speaks louder than words, no explanation needed, people are not dumb.
I’m telling you “EVERYTHING IS MEANINGLESS” none among these things which one had accumulated during this lifetime could be taken with him to the next life wherever he is heading.
Be tactful, use your life wisely invest in Godly ways & your soul with be at peace on your way to heaven.
My only request for this forthcoming elections to everybody, please STOP being STUPID.
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I do not think that the Philippines is ready for an automated election system. Firstly, the people in the country is not yet all oriented and so major mistakes are expected.Secondly, the literacy rate in our country especially in Mindanao is just an indication that the government still have to educate the voters in the new system of voting. Moreover, automation of the votes is more prone to the delusion of the votes since the dishonest candidates can use professional hackers to manipulate the system.Most importantly, we are investing our money in this kind of thing when they still have a lot of priorities that they should face…
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i am happy to know that there are a lot of people who are getting involved in this 2010 Automated Elections -especially the young ones. Let us help fellow voters, let’s help in educating one another.
http://digsmydailythoughts.blogspot.com/2010/03/voters-education.html
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sorry guys..it can still be cheated..who knows..it was already programmed to do the dirty tricks..sensors/scanners of the machine is now use if it is disabled..it will just generate the finished results(cheated program)..that’s it! God bless our country..
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