Comelec body pushes scanners for 2013 polls

The Commission on Elections Advisory Council (CAC) on automation has decided to again adopt the optical mark reading (OMR) technology as their preferred method for computerized voting in the 2013 midterm elections.

The CAC has selected OMR as their technology of choice, subject to approval of the Comelec en banc, Commissioner Armando Velasco told reporters in a chance interview Thursday.

“The CAC has submitted its recommendation, and it’s OMR. Remember that the Precinct Count Optical Scan machines used OMR [in the 2010 elections],” Velasco said, adding that the CAC’s choice was referred first to the Comelec’s steering committee for the 2013 polls headed by Commissioner Lucenito Tagle.

“It’s being discussed in steering committee. Maybe next week we can discuss it in the en banc,” Velasco added.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said he was not surprised by the CAC’s choice and said he thinks the commissioners would accept the OMR.

“Even before, OMR was always the most logical choice for a lot of reasons. First, the voter education for the [OMR] has been really laid down. The people know how to use the system. It will be an easy task to teach them. If a new technology is used, you start from zero,” he explained.

Jimenez said the commission en banc would still make the ultimate decision, but thinks it’s most likely that the OMR would be accepted as the purpose of the CAC is to recommend a suitable voting technology.

“The only thing we can expect is they (the commissioners) will be very specific in the safeguards of the system. That’s also the big issue in 2010. Most people did argue OMR as a system but on that the security could have been better. I think that is what is expected from the CAC. I think the choice is obvious but I think the more important thing is they (CAC members) will be more, very specific on the kind of security they want to have,” he added.