Some voters may hear their votes in polls

THE VOTE counting machines (VCMs) that will be used in the 2016 elections will have an audio feature that would make it easier for visually impaired or illiterate people to cast their votes.

According to Commission of Elections (Comelec) Chair Andres Bautista, the machines will come with headphones for visually impaired and illiterate voters so they could hear and confirm their choices.

Illiterate voters and those with physical disabilities such as visual impairment are usually not the ones who write on their ballots.

“Through the audio feature, they would be able to hear the names of the candidates they voted for and check if those that were shaded are correct,” said Bautista.

Other security features of the VCMs are the ultra-violet lamp, the source code, the digital signature and the voter-verified paper audit trail.

The UV lamp is intended to prevent fake ballots. The source code ensures the integrity and credibility of the election machines, while the digital signature is intended to authenticate all transmitted election results.

“All those features are there. But Bautista said the Comelec would still have to consult stakeholders before enabling the security features.

Of all the security features, only the voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) has remained an issue.

In a previous interview, Bautista said the VVPAT might tempt people to sell their votes. This was the main reason this feature was disabled on the precinct count optical scan machines (PCOS), Bautista said.

“This will be the best way to collect money if you want to sell your vote,” he said.

The multisectoral election watchdog Reform Philippines Coalition has been demanding the return of the four security features, saying their deactivation violated election laws and rendered the last two elections “illegal” and fraud tainted.