Comelec Spokesperson James Jimenez. INQUIRER file photo
Senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) should declare their statuses during voter’s registration for the 2019 midterm elections, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Spokesperson James Jimenez said on Wednesday.
Jimenez lamented that senior citizens and PWDs were not readily identified and accommodated at accessible polling places (APPs) in the recently concluded Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
APPs are special precincts for persons needing special assistance. They are located at the ground floors of the school buildings, where the elections are being conducted.
READ: PWDs, seniors struggle to vote in Manila
The Comelec official said applicants should check the appropriate box on their registration forms to identify whether they are PWDs, illiterates, or indigenous peoples (IPs).
“The Comelec needs to know that a person is, in fact, in need of special assistance,” Jimenez said in a statement.
“For that to happen, there must be an annotation on the person’s voter registration record to that effect; and for that to happen, the voter’s application for registration must clearly contain that information,” the official said.
For those who have already registered to vote, Jimenez said they could still visit their local Comelec offices to inform them of their status should they need assistance on the day of the election.
“So, if you know someone who can use an APP – typically, a senior or a PWD – please share this information with them,” Jimenez urged the public.
“It will go a long way toward ensuring that they get all the help they need on election day,” he said.
The period for voter registration started on July 2 and will end on September 29. /jpv