THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it would invalidate ballots with unnecessary markings as a countermeasure against vote buying.
“We will ensure that the ballots would not be used as a basis on who should be paid or not. The Comelec can rule to reject a ballot with unnecessary marks because by writing something on the ballot, it is the voter who invalidated his/her vote. We can do that,” Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said on Tuesday.
Garcia warned the public that putting unnecessary marks on an official ballot is an election offense punishable under the law by one year to six months imprisonment.
He added that the implementation of the measure in the 2025 midterm elections would be discussed and approved by the Comelec en banc.
“We still need to come out with the guidelines for our electoral board members. We will still discuss how to ensure that aside from the shading area, no other writings should be made on the ballot,” Garcia said.
He added that the automated counting machines would be configured to automatically reject ballots with unnecessary markings.
Garcia said the shading areas adjacent to the names of candidates were made bolder for easy recognition for senior citizens and those with poor eyesight.
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