As more VCMs conk out, voters refuse to leave ballots behind

Residents cast their votes Monday, May 9, 2016, inside a polling center in Shariff Aguak Elementary School in Shariff Aguak town in Maguindanao. PHOTO BY JEOFFREY MAITEM / INQUIRER MINDANAO

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur — As more vote counting machines malfunctioned, some voters here refused to leave their shaded ballots with precinct poll officers who were supposed to feed them later to a replacement VCM, causing delays in the elections.

This developed as more VCMs in other areas malfunctioned causing more delay in the conduct of elections.

A radio report from Communication Link for Emergency Assistance Network, an amateur radio group, said at least 10 VCMs in different precincts in the neighboring Barobo town in Surigao del Sur initially malfunctioned but were later fixed by technicians from the Commission on Elections.

Lumilinda Ramil, 65, a voter in Precinct 1A in Barangay (village) 3 here, refused to submit her shaded ballot to the election inspector until a replacement VCM arrived because she wanted to see her ballot being fed into the machine, instead of leaving it with the election inspector.

“I will never agree to that. Who knows, they might replace it with another ballot that is not mine,” Ramil said, vowing to wait for the replacement machine.

The same case took place in Barangay Bayugan 2 of this town.

Some voters, however, agreed to just shade their ballots and submit them to the Board of Election Inspectors, who would feed their ballots to the replacement VCM later. SFM/rga

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