It's happening! The first fully automated Philippine elections is now in full swing in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia. Reports say that the PCOS machines have been working well, although (inevitably) the voting ran into some minor problems.
Hong Kong experienced the first PCOS-related snafu when a counting machine malfunctioned because of moisture. The machine was said to be rejecting ballots when the problem was first discovered. Fortunately, the machine has been fixed and has worked fine since then.
Another non-tech problem is that while the Hong Kong and Singapore legs of the overseas absentee voting (OAV) has been well-publicized, voters in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, were not aware that they were part of the advanced voting. Turnout was lower than expected, and those who came to the consulate even had difficulties locating their precinct numbers.
These are minor problems, really, but it just goes to show that a massive rollout of the machines (such as what would happen on May 10) could run into various problems.
Overseas voting will run for 31 days (April 10 to May 10) in the said regions to give all registered citizens a chance to vote. For more information, OFWs may visit the Philippine Consulate in their respective countries. As for us here in the country, we'll have to wait until May 10 to vote.
To report anomalies and other problems, voters may call Migrante Watch, the election monitoring arm of the group Migrante International, at +63922 682 4187.
Via Yahoo
Source GMANews
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