Proposed automated election system for 2025 allows quick verification of ballots, ERs — Garcia

The Commission on Elections’ proposed automated election system (AES) for the 2025 polls will adopt mechanisms that will improve the transparency of the voting process in the country, Comelec Chairman George Garcia said Friday.

Under Fully Automated System with Transparency Audit and Count (FASTrAC), Garcia said voters will be allowed to verify their votes through ballot images on automated counting machines while watchers and political camps will be allowed to take pictures of election returns after its transmission.

“Makikita ng botante ang balota na kanyang hinulog back and [front] yung mismong ballot image,” Garcia said in an interview  on Dobol B TV when asked about the new security features of the proposed AES.

For those who are visually impaired, Garcia said there is an audio feature where the machine can read the votes cast by the voter.

Apart from this, Garcia said citizens’ arms and political groups will automatically receive a copy of the election returns—a mechanism which he said was non-existent in the automated election system since it was implemented in 2010.

“Hindi na po tayo gagamit ng mismong transparency server na nagiging issue before yung sinasabi before na ‘meet me room.’ Ngayon po ang gusto natin ‘yung citizens arm, majority party, minority party…ay automatic na mapapadalhan ng result ng mismong galing sa presinto, sa makina mismo. Wala nang ibang dadaanan,” he said.

“So ‘yung mga entities na ‘yan ay pwedeng magkumparahan kung ano ba ang pinadala ng presinto na ito ay same na pinadala sa lahat,” he added.

Further, Garcia said political groups would not need to wait for a protest before seeing the election returns as watchers in the precincts will be allowed to take pictures of ballot images after its transmission.

“’Yung mga issue po ng transparency, ‘yan po ang gusto nating i-resolve kaya po nagkaroon kami ng deklarasyon ng policy na tinatawag naming FASTrAC,” he said.

On Thursday, Comelec presented the terms of reference for the lease of machines which will have a combination of the Upgraded Optical Mark Reader Paper-Based AES with Direct Recording Electronic capabilities.—AOL, GMA Integrated News