What You Need To Learn About The Upcoming Automated Elections

Hi. Just want to share with you some things I learned about the ballot for
the coming automated elections. I hope the information below will help
voters out there. I think that since this is the first automated elections
the country is having, it’s going to take some adjustment and adaptation on
the part of voters, and extra knowledge/informati on is sure to help anyone
heading to the polls on May 10, 2010.

I attended my barangay’s seminar on the 2010 elections last Sunday, arranged
by the captain, Ralph Diaz. I learned a few things from Mr. Diaz about the
election ballot that could be informative for all of us:

1. Mr. Diaz said that *the ballot is very, very sensitive to marks, ink,
H20, stains, scratches, folds, sweat, etc*. If, say, you have grime on your
hands, or your hands are wet, or your sweat drips onto the ballot, the PCOS
(Precinct Count Optical Scan) Unit will not read it. *So, keep your hands
very clean before voting.* That is why the indelible ink will be put on your
finger after you’re done voting, and not before, and why you will be given
your ballot in a folder, a “Ballot Secrecy Folder”, so that you can lessen
the actual handling of the ballot with your hands.

2. *Shade the egg-shaped hole beside your chosen candidate fully* (you will
be provided with a marker). Don’t check, line, X, dot, or half-shade it,
because the PCOS Unit will not read it. Try *not to go beyond the lines also
* (well, not too much).

3. Mr. Diaz said that *there will be a barcode going around the ballot. If
this is marked, even scratched, in any way, the ballot will be spoiled*. He
said that if anyone else handles the ballot, watch them well, in case they
intentionally scratch the barcode with a fingernail to prevent your ballot
from being counted. He used as an example that if you’re obviously for a
candidate that, say, an unscrupulous precinct official is against
(hopefully, there’s no such thing as an unscrupulous precinct official ;-P),
that official may scratch your barcode to prevent your vote from being
counted.

4. *You will have four tries to put your ballot through the PCOS Unit*. You
can put it in forward, backward, front side up, back side up, whichever, but
only four tries. If after the 4th try it doesn’t read properly, goodbye
ballot.

5. *You will get one chance to have your ballot changed if you don’t like
it.* That’s when they first hand it to you. *Inspect it right away*. If you
see any folds, scratches, or marks, you can ask for a change (which may
lengthen your voting process, Mr. Diaz added).

(more…)