COMELEC Lists 10 Things Voters Must Remember For The ARMM Polls

Poll equipment arrive in Mindanao for the August 11, 2008 elections in the Muslim autonomous region. The Commission on Elections listed 10 things for voters to remember in Monday's polls. (Mindanao Examiner Photo / Mark Navales)

COTABATO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 6, 2008) - The Philippines Commission on Elections Chairman Jose Melo listed down ten things voters need to remember for the August 11 automated elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The poll body said Melo advised the more than 1.5 million registered voters in the ARMM to keep in mind the following:


10. If you’re voting in Maguindanao, remember that you will be using the direct recording electronic voting system. All you have to do to vote is to press on the picture of the candidate you wish to vote for.


9. If you’re voting in Shariff Kabunsuan, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu or Tawi-Tawi, remember that you will be using the optical mark reader based technology. This means that you will be using a paper ballot but you will NOT write the names of the candidate of your choice. All you have to do is shade in the oval next to the candidate’s name. Shade the oval completely!


8. Illiterate and disabled voters can be assisted by a relative within the 4th civil degree of consanguinity or affinity; a trusted member of the voter’s household; or the Chairman of the Board of Election Inspectors. However, with modernized voting, we believe that literacy will not be an issue.


7. In both systems, over-votes will not be allowed. In case of an over-vote, only the vote for the over-voted position will be invalidated. The rest of the ballot will be counted normally.


6. On election day, voting begins at 7 a.m. and runs until 3 p.m.


5. Check your precinct assignments early! If you can, use the Precinct finder on the COMELEC website – http://www.comelec.gov.ph/


4. Review the procedure of voting. If you’re voting in Maguindanao, all you have to do is press on the image of the candidate you want; If you’re voting in Shariff Kabunsuan, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu or Tawi-Tawi, simply fill in the oval next to the name of the candidate of your choice.


3. Don’t forget to indicate your gender and age bracket on the OMR ballot, or on the touch pad.


2. Review the campaign – weigh the pros and cons of each candidate and prepare a list of candidates you intend to vote for.


And lastly is for the electorate to go out and vote.


The poll body said it is ready for Monday's elections and that at least 3,150 Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) have arrived in the ARMM and would be distributed to different destinations in 23 municipalities in Maguindanao.


Maguindanao is the only province in the ARMM which will be using the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) technology during the automated elections. Other provinces will be using the Optical Mark Reader (OMR) system. (Mark Navales)