Students in Calasiao, Pangasinan, got their first taste of an automated election during the Student Government Council (SSG) polls held at a private school on Tuesday, October 8, 2024.

The shift to automated voting excited many learners, who were able to cast their ballots quickly and efficiently.

"Mas pinadali po talaga ang pag-boto namin, mas mabilis po," Althea Capistrano, one of the voters, said.

Capistrano finished voting in just three minutes, a big improvement from the usual 15-minute manual voting process.

The school emphasized the importance of this early exposure to voting, helping students understand their right to suffrage at a young age.

The initiative aims to prepare them for future national elections, where they will also encounter automated voting systems.

"'Yung automated is para mapabilis ang turn out ng elections, their right to suffrage dapat alam nila 'yun," Assistant Principal Ediliza Mangaoang said.

Students from Grade 4 to Grade 10 participated, and the results were announced just one hour after the voting ended.

In manual elections, it typically takes two days to proclaim winners, but the automated system sped up the process significantly.