Voter road show
AS part of its preparations for the 2025 off-season national and local polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) is conducting a nationwide voter education road show.
Starting Monday, the education road show will run until Jan. 30, 2025, according to Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia, one of the country’s top election lawyers.
Under the Comelec calendar of activities, the campaign period for national candidates starts February 11, while local bets may start campaigning March 28.
The forthcoming political exercise, which is “democracy in action,” is set May 12, 2025, according to the poll body.
The road show includes live demonstrations of the automated counting machines (ACMs) allowing voters to familiarize themselves with the new technology.
During the road show, old and newly-registered voters will have the opportunity to experience how to use the new automated counting machines from South Korea,
“The goal of the road show is to…ensure that they (voters) understand how to properly use the machine, and to reinforce the importance of exercising their right and responsibility to vote,” the Comelec said.
The nation goes to the polls anew next year to elect 12 senators, more than 300 members of the House of Representatives and thousands of local government officials.
Currently, the Philippines, a Southeast Asian country teeming with election-crazy people, has 68.6 million registered voters.
In the view of many, conducting the voter education road show is a move in the right direction considering the presence of millions of newly-registered electors.
