Poll body to use colored ballots in 2010 elections

By Charlie V. Manalo
11/12/2009


In a bid to make electronic voting easier, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has decided to use color-coded ballots for the 2010 national and local elections.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez yesterday said the poll body en banc approved the proposal to utilize a color-coded design for the ballots that will be fed in the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines which the commission will use in the electoral exercise next year.

He explained that each ballot will have different sections that will be represented by each color.

“The ballot will be printed in full color with each section. It’s like blue, green and black... for president, black; for senator, green; and then for party-list, blue,” Jimenez told reporters.

The same pattern goes for the local positions, he added.

Jimenez said the purpose of the color-coding ballots is basically to make it easier for voters to recognize on which category they are already voting.

“So that with just one look, you’ll know what section you’re on,” he stressed.

But Jimenez said only the borders of the ballots, not the entire paper will have colors in order to allow the text to retain its black ink.

This will be the first time that ballots will be colored since in the previous elections the Comelec used blank off-white paper where there are pre-printed positions and corresponding number of blanks where voters write the names of their candidates.

With the PCOS voting system, names of the candidates in each position would be pre-printed and voters will only need to shade the oval areas beside the names of their choices.

Aside from having a colored ballot, Jimenez said the size of the ballots will be bigger than the usual ballot size.

“The size of the ballot for the 2010 polls will be 8 ½ by 22 to 25 inches, the size of the ballot may vary depending on the number of the candidates running for certain positions in certain areas,” he added.

Each ballot would have 600 names as maximum including the names of candidates running from president down to the municipality or city councilors.

Jimenez also reminded voters that they need to shade or fill-in at least 50 percent of the oval opposite the name of the candidate they choose to vote for the machine to count their votes.

“It has to be 50 percent. We always say it’s good to shade it completely…if the machine sees a mark on an oval and it comes up to 50 percent then it will be considered as a vote for that candidate,” he said.

Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said they will be providing special felt-tip pens for the voters to use as markers.

“So when you put a mark on the ballot it’s easier to cover the oval. We will provide it,” he added.

Larrazabal also revealed that they will be designating a number to party-list groups for the party-list elections.

He however, said only the acronym of the group’s name will be printed on the ballot to save space and for the voter to immediately identify them.

“Another innovation is each party list will be given designated number, acronym and number. So it’s easier to look for the name of the party list because there’s a corresponding number to the acronym so you all have to do is scroll down…searching will be easier and faster,” he said.

The Comelec official said they will be releasing a list of the groups to the public and to the groups as well so that they can use it during the campaign, by just telling the public the number they are representing based on the Comelec list.

Malacañang, for its part, also yesterday assured proper security for teachers who will serve as poll officers in next year’s elections.

Deputy presidential spokesman Lorelei Fajardo said the Palace is confident that the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Comelec are resolving the issues raised by the teachers.

The Alliance of Concerned Teaches (ACT) warned on Tuesday that its members would take a mass leave or initiate protest action if the government would continue to ignore their appeal for adequate compensation, safety and proper training on the automated poll process in the May 2010 polls.

ACT is asking for a P1,000 increase in the compensation of teachers who will render services in the coming elections.

During the 2007 elections, teachers were paid P1,000 per day for their services as election officers.

Fajardo said Malacañang supports the appeal of the teachers, but the final decision will come from the Comelec, which is an independent body.

She, however, assured the teachers that the government will provide proper security for their safety in partaking in the election process in May 2010. Gerry Baldo and PNA


Source: http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20091112hed3.html