Manual count may record mismatch due to shading threshold — Comelec

MANILA, Philippines — The shading threshold may be another reason for possible discrepancies between the manual counting of ballots and the vote counting machines (VCMs) transmittal of results, an official of the  Commission on Elections (Comelec) said on Wednesday.

According to Commissioner Luie Tito Guia, it is possible that there is a difference in the appreciation of votes by the people and by the machine.

“Posible in the sense na magkaiba ‘yong appreciation ng mata sa pagbilang ng makina,” Guia said when asked about the possibility of discrepancies.

Guia further explained that the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente) members, Comelec’s partner in the Random Manual Audit (RMA) may not be able to determine if a ballot was shaded under the allowed threshold, which is 25 percent.

“Kasi ganito, ‘pag na-calibrate ng makina na 25 (percent) ‘yong pixels ang kinuha niya, hindi naman nagme-measure ng exact area ‘yong mata mo di ba?  Lalo na kung nasa gray area no’ng threshold yung shade na makikita niyo,” he said.

“Syempre kung buo ‘yong shade mo o wala, no question, it should be read or not read.  So bibilangin mo as it is, ‘pag buo yung shade, bibilangin mo talaga as a vote,” he added.

Earlier, Comelec’s RMA partner Legal Network for Truthful Elections (Lente) has raised the possibility that manual counting can address questions about candidates being allegedly included in VCM receipts even if voters did not vote for him or her.

The RMA started on Wednesday, at the Diamond Hotel in Malate, Manila.

In September 2018, Comelec announced that they will be using a 25 percent shading threshold standard, where votes may be considered valid even if only 25 percent of circles corresponding a candidate was shaded.

The issue of shading thresholds have been raised in the electoral protest filed by former Senator Bongbong Marcos, who lost to Vice President Leni Robredo in the 2016 vice presidential race. (Editor: Mike U. Frialde)

READ: PET sets aside 50% ballot shading threshold for VP vote recount

READ: Comelec insists on 25% shading threshold