Comelec eyes 15% ballot-shading threshold in Eleksyon 2025

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is considering lowering the valid shading threshold for ballots to 15% for the 2025 national and local elections (NLE). 

Speaking to reporters and poll watchdogs on Tuesday, Chairperson George Erwin Garcia said the proposal is still subject to the approval of the Comelec en banc. 

“The PMO [Project Management Office] is recommending to the en banc to accept the threshold is 15%… Of course, subject sa approval of the Comelec en banc. But that’s the recommendation of the PMO, 15% shading is enough and it will be counted by the machine,” Garcia said. 

The lowest threshold for shading was set at 20% during the 2010 elections, according to the poll chief. Garcia said the proposal to further ease the threshold for the ballot marking was raised to avoid disenfranchising voters. 

“Ang importante dito is ‘yung intent ng voter (The intent of the voter is important). No voter should be disenfranchised,” he said. 

Election watchdog National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), for its part,  welcomed the recommendation, echoing Bautista’s remarks on the importance of the voters’ intent. 

“Those are the rules so kailangan ‘yung ating mga botante ay cognizant of the rules…That will go into our voter education program para ma-inform ang mga botante,” said NAMFREL National Chairperson Lito Averia. 

(Voters should be cognizant of the rules so we will include this in our voter education program.) 

End-to-end test

Meanwhile, the Comelec conducted the end-to-end testing for the AES for the 2025 polls and Bangamoro Parliamentary elections. It was the first time the process was opened to the public.

The activity included the testing of the vote counting machines, online voting and counting system, and transmission of votes. —KBK, GMA Integrated News