2010 May Election is another history which will ink permanently in our books, may it be in good or bad point we will soon know. Since our voting procedure will evolve from manual writing of names and one-by-one counting of ballots to computerize voting involving the very much controversial PCOS machine. These aims for fast voting process, fast tallying in seconds and fast proclamation of winners.
What is PCOS machine? It is a counting machine or Precinct Count Optical Scanner so to say, I had been searching the net to find out tips on how to manipulate it este! use it, but I can't find all I gather is that voters only involvement on this machine is feeding the ballot on it and make sure that it accepts your vote and the rest will be taken care of by PCOS technicians aka board of election inspector. They say that certain data and information should be kept in confidential for the sake of security, I really hope those codes and passwords won't leak out and PCOS software are hack-free to ensure CLEAN and HONEST.
What if a brownout occurs on May 10? Comelec ensure that there is a back-up batteries that can supply power to PCOS machine for up to 16 hours.
Since our responsibility is to choose the rightful person for the public official position I might as well share with you some guidelines I had seen on the net from Commission On Elections (COMELEC)
1. The voter shall, using a ballot secrecy folder and the marking pen provided by the COMELEC, fill his ballot by fully shading the oval beside the names of the candidates and political party participating in the party list system of representation of his choice.
2. The voter shall then approach the PC0S machine; insert his ballot in the ballot entry slot and wait until the ballot is dropped into the ballot box. The Board of Election Inspector shall monitor the PCOS screen to make sure that the ballot was successfully accepted. Thereafter, the voter shall return the ballot secrecy folder and marking pen to the chairman.
3. The chairman shall apply indelible ink at the base and extending to the cuticle of the right forefinger nail of the voter, or any other nail if there be no forefinger nail.
4. The voter shall affix his thumb mark on the corresponding space (beside his/her name) in the computerized voter’s list.
5. The voter shall then leave the polling place.
Click the picture to enlarge
As added Precaution please note the following;
- Check your precinct and sequence numbers on a list at the voting place days before the election to avoid hassle during election day. You can also check your precinct on COMELEC's online Registration Verification just click on the link.
-Comelec deletes names of voters who have not voted for two consecutive elections.
-Bring extra Valid Identification Card with picture and signature just in case problem arise during validation.
-Be very extra careful in marking your ballot since COMELEC issue exact number of ballot on each specific precincts. This means that you cannot commit mistake in markings or your vote will not be counted. These ballots contain bar-codes which are unique for each precinct and Ultraviolet Markings to identify fraud ones.
-Cellphones and cameras are not allowed inside the precinct.
There are lots of speculations regarding how candidates will cheat and manipulate the 2010 election, news about jammers and disc switching and it is a reality we cannot prevent those power-hungry people from doing this thing, but we can do something by voting wisely, don't be lure by those popularity measures they publish on if who is on top of those stupid surveys. Vote for the person whom you truly believe have the best intention for our country and be vigilant with your camera and cellphone, there a lots of watch station like ABS CBN and GMA these are trusted networks where you can easily text message, call, twitter or email some suspicious people or situation on your place.
References:
