Comelec wants audio-equipped machines to assist visually impaired voters

Comelec Commissioner George Garcia in a media briefing in this file photo taken on April 27, 2022. INQUIRER file photo / LYN RILLON

MANILA, Philippines — Audio technology for visually impaired voters is among several innovations of the new automated counting machines (ACMs) the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is promoting for the 2025 midterm elections, according to chairman George Garcia.

“Gusto namin, puwedeng mabasa ng ating mga kababayang, halimbawa po, hindi nakakakita. So dapat po may ganung klaseng feature upang ma-serve naman po natin sila. At the same time, mayroon pong audio feature siya. Ibig sabihin… at the same time, puwedeng marinig na lang ng ating mga botante na may kapansanan kung ano at sino yung binoto nila,” he explained.” said Garcia in a Friday interview with dzBB.

(We want that our countrymen who, for example, are unable to see, can read their ballots. So there should be a feature that allows us to serve them. At the same time, [the machines] should have an audio feature. This means… at the same time, our voters with disabilities could hear what and who they voted for.)

The latest information from the Department of Health disclosed that the number of blind people in the country is 592,000 out of a 102 million total population as of 2011. It also tallied an estimated two million persons with moderate to severe visual impairment.

Other polling innovations

Audio technology is one of several upgrades Comelec is eyeing as part of their Fully Automated System with Transparency Audit and Count (FASTrAC) program to address transparency issues by the 2025 elections.

Other innovations revealed by Garcia include the use of stamping pens instead of shading with standard markers; 12” touch screens on which ACMs would show ballot images and counts; and the immediate, simultaneous transmission of voting results to multiple servers (such as Media, Citizen Arms, and Majority and Minority Party servers) instead of the single transparency server used in previous elections.

Comelec also aims to use touch screen technology for overseas Filipino voters in the 2025 elections, and hopes to extend this tech to barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in 2026, according to its chairman.

The electoral body has previously announced its hopes to lease new ACMs to replace the 98,000 vote-counting machines it has deemed “unusable.”

Garcia emphasized that Comelec would prefer to rent the machines directly from manufacturers instead of fully purchasing them to maximize upgrades of newer machines for future elections.

Feasibility not yet certain

While Garcia confirmed that the commission has internally discussed projected ACM costs, he chose to defer announcing these figures to the public until they have been adequately proposed to the appropriate government bodies.

The chairman also revealed that Comelec has yet to conduct its market research on the feasibility of obtaining such machines.

“Mayroon po kaming kwenta, subalit ayaw ko munang i-reveal. Pasensya na po. Dahil una siyempre, magpapa-approve po muna kami ng budget sa Executive Department, upang ito naman ay ma-approve sa Legislative Department,” said Garcia.

(We have a count, but I would prefer not to reveal this. Apologies. First, we must have this budget approved by the Executive Department, so the Legislative Department can also approve it.)

“Magpapa-market survey po muna kami upang alamin— number one, mayroon bang ganyang klaseng makina? Number two, mayroon bang manufacturer na kaya yung ganyang klaseng makina base sa features na gusto namin? And number three, more or less mga magkano ba yung ganung klase ng halaga?” he clarified.

(We will conduct market surveys to find out— number one, do these kinds of machines exist? Number two, are there manufacturers that can produce them? And number three, more or less, how much would these cost?)

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