2M new voters expected to register

REGISTER ANYWHERE Voters register at a Manila shopping mall during a test run in July. —FILE PHOTO

At least 2 million new voters are expected to register in the next seven weeks to be able to vote in the Oct. 30, 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.

“That is the minimum initial assessment [of expected new voters] based on the last voter registration in July when we had 3 million new applications,” said Rex Laudiangco, spokesperson for the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

The additional voters will consist of those who are at least 18 years old who are eligible to vote in regular elections, and those who are at least 15 years old who can only vote in the youth elections.

Laudiangco said they expect at least 1 million new regular voters and another at least 1 million youth voters to sign up during the latest round of voter registration, which opened on Dec. 12 and will run until Jan. 31 next year.

A record-breaking nearly 3 million new voters signed up during the last 18-day voter’s registration period from July 4 to July 23.

A total 2,936,979 new voters registered nationwide who expected to vote in the barangay and SK elections on Dec. 5 this year. INQ