Comelec OKs testing of automated polls for 2023 in 3 pilot areas
Comelec headquarters in Intramuros, Manila.
MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it approved testing of the Automated Elections System (AES) in three different villages for the 2023 Village and Youth Council Elections (BSKE).
Comelec agreed to the automation at a meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
The pilot testing will be done in two villages in Dasmariñas City, Cavite and one in Pasong Tamo, Quezon City for the BSKE on Oct. 30, 2023.
“In view of this limited pilot testing of the AES in the BSKE in the specified barangays in Dasmariñas City and Quezon City, the filing of COCs will be earlier in view of the need to print the names of the candidates in the machine-readable official ballots,” Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco told reporters through Viber.
“The election period shall remain the same, with the exception of the said period of filing of COCs in the pilot tested barangays as well as the other periods (deployment, FTS, etc.) inherent to the implementation of an automated elections system,” he added.
As many as 84,100 and 27,818 registered voters can vote for barangay and SK officials in three barangays. It was decided during a Feb. 7 meeting of the House Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms.
Official ballots
The ballots for the postponed and rescheduled Dec. 5, 2022 elections were authorized by the Comelec. It printed 16,027,280 ballots for the barangay elections and 5,958,931 for the SK elections.
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