Automation for a more secure, credible elections
Democracy Watch supports the automation initiatives of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for 2022. As the national elections draw near, the COMELEC has been ramping up its preparations and refurbishing the vote counting machines (VCMs). Learnings from 2016 and 2019 have allowed the Commission to improve the software used in the machines to increase transparency and credibility of the polls.
The VCMs contain upgraded software that can now troubleshoot on its own and automatically send alerts if dirt or stained ballots enter the machine. Beyond this, the machines have their own ballot segregation system which prevents the reading of ballots from different precincts. This allows for more safeguards against ill-intentioned parties who wish to commit electoral fraud. Beyond this, the local source code review also acts as a way for concerned stakeholders to engage in the process of ensuring the integrity of the automated election system.
Even in the transmission of the votes, steps are being taken to ensure more transparency. The votes will be sent to the COMELEC main server, the transparency server, and the consolidation and canvassing server. This is to increase trust in the votes counted – to increase the credibility of votes done through machines.
The trustworthy process of automation has allowed for more secure conduct of elections. As COMELEC strengthens its capacity to ensure that no technical glitches occur, Democracy Watch calls on citizens to take part in the coming polls and show up to vote on May 9. Let us all work together to continue our democracy.