Comelec: 99.6% of vote counting machines for Eleksyon 2022 refurbished

The Commission on Elections said 99.6% of the vote-counting machines (VCM) for Eleksyon 2022 have already been refurbished.

“Finall we have already refurbished 99.6% of the VCMs that’s 96,981. But we do have a number of them in quarantine. Ibig sabihin, ongoing ang repairs (that means the repairs are ongoing) that’s 334 units,” said Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez.

Jimenez added that the Comelec was expecting the final trusted build VCMs for Eleksyon 2022 early in December.

The final trusted build covers all components that run the VCM, including the canvassing system.

According to him, this will produce a “hash code” which is essential to ensure that the system that's being run on election day is the same system that was subjected to a trusted build.

Jimenez explained that “if you change the program, the hash code itself will change.”

The hash code can be seen on the VCM itself and could be verified on Comelec’s website, he added.

Moreover, the poll body has scheduled mock elections for the technical aspect of the voting system, including the use of VCMs, in the last week of December.

The presentation shared by Comelec showed that the tentative date of mock elections is set on December 29, 2021.

“The mock elections will be a public test. We will use actual voters to see how [they behave] in the field,” he said.

Before the mock elections, the Comelec will conduct a field test on December 11 to determine if precinct and canvass results can be accomplished electronically from the polling centers and canvassing places to their designated destination.

Jimenez said this would be an “internal test” as it only involved the “software” which will be used for Eleksyon 2022.

The Comelec is currently adjusting its bidding process to lease additional 10,000 VCMs and bring down the ratio to 800 voters per VCM in the upcoming polls from 1,000 during the 2019 elections. — DVM, GMA News