In an apparent bid to justify its decision to award the P17.9-billion contract to South Korean firm Miru Systems, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Friday gave a demonstration of the new voting machines to be used in next year’s local and national elections.
The demonstraction was organized by UP College of Engineering, with poll watchdog groups Computer Professionals Union and Kontra Daya in attendance.
COMELEC spokesman John Rex Laudiangco, who also serves as the director for education and information, talked about the changes in the voting process.
The new voting machines supplied by Miru Systems which won the COMELEC bidding held last March.
Laudiangco clarified that Miru was the sole bidder.
“They won because they were the only firm which managed to participate in its two (bidding) Cycles,” he said.
He said the ballot papers to be used in the polls will be lighter, explaining that the recommended weight for the new machines will be 90 gsm (grams square meter).
The papers used by the previous Comelec service provider Smartmatic had a weight of 120 gsm, making them heavier and difficult to be sourced.
Despite of the change in the paper specifications, the COMELEC-issued pens will be in use “to avoid inconsistencies in the process that may arise if different ball point tips were used.”
The new machines also feature a touch screen function known as ‘direct-recording electronic voting’ that will be used for overseas voters, Laudiangco said.
As such, it could not be used by the general public to avoid possible long queues, as well as to keep track of the votes cast, he said.
However, the screen could possibly be used to either display the summary of the votes made or the voter’s ballot itself, a prospect still being deliberated as of today, he added.
To allow a smooth transport of the machines and other equipment, a one-size-fits-all luggage-like box that is durable and ‘easily transportable’ will be used.
The Comelec will also use “multiple data centers to help increase transparency in the counting of the votes, as well as to fix issues in data extraction.”
This will be installed across all sectors concerned, each for the dominant political parties, election watchdog PPCRV and NAMFREL, media, and the COMELEC.
The COMELEC called the machine a “culmination”of a process that led them to explore other, hi-tech voting systems last year.
The poll body hopes that the new ACMs will address concerns in the voting process after they have collated responses of voters in the use of VCM and PCOS machines. With Rolando Ng III