Automated Elections in 2010

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  I recently received a question asking if there's enough time to automate the 2010 elections. It will be helpful to know if Filipinos are amenable to the idea of automated elections in 2010. An updated survey will surely be helpful to have an updated view on this. As long it is introduced by a credible COMELEC leadership, it can be done. As Ducky Paredes kept emphasizing, election related preparations can't just be rushed. Else, it will create uncertain situation that harms the organization as well. Every government office, especially its leadership, always want to deliver better service to the people. However, forces beyond its control, like the legislature and various interest groups can either help or be a productive watchdog (give thumbs up or down accordingly) or make all efforts impossible. Their actions influences our perception on the COMELEC. Any automation efforts, the planning and preparation for it must start as early as this year. If the automated election system was done right and securely, it may curb cheating. The 2010 elections may be too near though. Perhaps it will be best to do some trials on 2010 in key areas like Metro Manila to begin with. Although there are similar proposals in Cebu too.


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      Leo Reyes

Digital Journal http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/275721 The Philippines will have its first ever automated elections in a long time as the country's Commission on Elections Chairman, Jose Melo, signed Friday a contract for the automation of the 2010 national elections. The Chairman of the Commission of Elections (Comelec) of the Philippines represented by its Chairman, Jose Melo, signed a P7.2 billion contract Friday with Smatmatic-TIM joint venture Company for the automation of the 2010 national elections. The contract signing signals the first ever automated election in the Philippines. A last- minute petition by lawyer Harry Roque for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) did not prevent the Comelec Chairman from signing the contract. Roque cited lack of papers, machine errors during test runs and other bidding violations as his group͛s reasons for the filing of TRO. Among other things, the automation contract calls for the supply, delivery and operation of at least 82,000 computer/counting machines capable of accurately counting the election returns within 24-48 hours and making known the winning candidates within the stated period. Past Philippines election returns were manually counted and takes several days, sometimes months to finish, allowing cheating and other election fraud in the process. ͞We are committed to deliver the machines on schedule and there is enough time based on our projection to manufacture the 82,200 PCOS machines,͟ said Smartmatic international sales director Cesar Flores.

Inquirer Headlines / Nation http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090306-192592/All-go-forautomated-elections-in-2010 All go for automated elections in 2010 Landmark measure junks manual electoral system By Kristine L. Alave, Michael Lim Ubac Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 01:53:00 03/06/2009

It͛s full speed ahead for the computerized general elections on May 10, 2010, Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair Jose Melo said Thursday. ͞We are ready. There will be full automation nationwide,͟ Melo said at a press briefing Thursday after the Senate passed the House-approved P11.3-billion supplemental budget for the automation of the elections on May 10, 2010. The Senate approval of the measure at midnight Wednesday finally discarded the fraudprone manual counting of votes in the country. Instead of writing on ballots, voters will shade the spaces allotted for the names of candidates. The ballots will then be inserted into the optical machine readers to be placed in clustered precincts all over the country. Melo said the Comelec would pursue the nationwide automation of elections, despite opposition and skepticism from certain lawmakers and information technology professionals. Although exhausted from almost seven hours of debate, main proponents Senators Edgardo Angara and Richard Gordon beamed after the presiding officer, Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, banged the gavel to adopt House Bill No. 5715, which the House of Representatives passed on Monday. Angara said the supplemental budget was a landmark measure because it buried the electoral system introduced in the country since democratic elections started at the turn of the 20th century. ͞It is the beginning of a new era of modern elections. I͛m glad that my colleagues have embraced this march to modernization of the electoral process,͟ he said. With nine of the 13 senators voting to support poll automation, Angara and Gordon declared in separate interviews after the plenary vote that the approval of the measure marked the end of the manual counting of votes in the country. Angara, chair of the Senate finance committee and sponsor of the committee report, said the supplemental budget would bring back confidence in government, especially faith in the electoral system.

͞It is the first block in confidence building. Faith in the Commission on Elections will begin. This bill is very crucial on the eve of a very crucial election in 2010,͟ Angara said in an interview right after the chamber adjourned for a month-long Lenten break at about 1 a.m. Thursday. 
 
 The results for national candidates from President, Vice President and senators will be known in two days, the Comelec said. Comelec officials told senators before the plenary vote that technically voting would be manual, but the counting and transmission of votes would be automated. The senators who voted for the measure were Senators Angara, Gordon, Juan Miguel Zubiri, Loren Legarda, Rodolfo Biazon, Lito Lapid, Ramon Revilla Jr., Gregorio Honasan and Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. Four senatorsͶBenigno Aquino III, Jinggoy Estrada, Jamby Madrigal and Francis EscuderoͶ voted against the measure. 

!   ͞I am not willing to spend even a single centavo for a system which is not tested, for a system we cannot even describe or define, or a system that we͛re not even sure of delivering a clean, honest and fair election,͟ Escudero said. Madrigal said the planned automation could turn into a ͞nightmare͟ because the fundamental institutional reforms had not been implemented in the Comelec. Legarda voted for the measure, although she said she was cheated in the 2004 elections when she ran for Vice President. Legarda said that even in automated elections, the manner of manual voting was still greatly susceptible to fraud. ͞I will vigilantly guard the Comelec in this process every step of the way in the hope that finally, free, honest and democratic elections can be held in our country that is truly reflective of the people͛s will,͟ she said. The approval of the measure prompted Zubiri, the Senate majority leader, to challenge the Comelec to do its job. ͞We did our job, it͛s time for you to do your job,͟ he said. "     Melo, who was present during the lengthy deliberations, assured the senators that the poll body could implement to the letter Republic Act No. 9369, or the Amended Automated Elections Law, which prescribes full automation of the country͛s electoral exercise on May 10

next year. The automation law was supposed to be implemented in the May 2007 elections but the Comelec sought a postponement, citing lack of time for preparations. ͞With automated elections, our people can rely on the fact that their vote will be counted, and that their vote will mean change for the country, then they will stop being cynical. And once they stop being cynical, perhaps the focus will now be on the common good,͟ said Gordon. ¢ # At the press briefing, Comelec commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer said the poll body would not consider suggestions to put on hold the nationwide computerized polls because of logistical problems. Neither will it look into the proposal of some IT experts to use the Open Election System, he said. ͞Comments such as those are already too late in the day,͟ Ferrer said. $   Melo said full automation under the Precinct Counting Optical Scan (PCOS) would considerably reduce instances of fraud and cheating. It will also lessen election complaints because the system promises to be fast and accurate, according to the Comelec chief. PCOS is a ballot-based system in which the voter will mark his choices on a specially printed ballot that features security markings. The ballot will then be fed into a scanner, which records and stores the votes. %   &  Melo said the Comelec was within its timeline for the election preparations. Since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is set to sign the budget in the next few days, the Comelec sees the start of the bidding for the PCOS supply contract by the end of March. Melo said the Comelec was set to approve the terms of reference (TOR) for the bidders on Friday and publish it next week. ͞We want to give the service providers the opportunity to comment on the TOR then we will begin with the bidding process soon,͟ he said. 
'!   The Comelec aims to award the contract before May 22 to give the winning bidder ample time to configure the machines. The poll body said it would rent around 80,000 machines for the 2010 elections. Eleven foreign firms have expressed interest in bidding for the PCOS contract. These are US

firms Sequioa, Avante, ES/S, Hart and Scantron; Venezuela͛s Smartmatic; United Kingdom͛s DRS; India͛s Bharat; South Korea͛s DVS Korea; Gilat Solution of Israel and Spain͛s Indra System. ͞These companies have demonstrated capabilities and good track records of successfully holding actual elections abroad,͟ said Commissioner Rene Sarmiento. Based on the Comelec calendar, the supplier should deliver the machines to the Comelec on Nov. 28 and test the machines in December. http://filipinovoices.com/is-automated-poll-fool-proof Filipino Voices

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 "  March 6th, 2009 by Primer C. Pagunuran

Offhand, the P11.3 billion budgetary fund duly legislated for the forthcoming 2010 elections to take off in ʹ automation ʹ ranged against the number of voters who will actually vote on that day to express their voice might tell us just how expensive the whole exercise could cost. In other words, the purchase of some 80,000 computers at P100,000 each for a one-shot use might prove to be not advantageous to the government unless otherwise there is no other better economic option present like renting the whole ͚infrastructure or apparatus͛ from a company that can provide it to include allied services. This means getting the entire project sub-contracted to those who can meet the program specifications as well as with reputation that passed the qualification criteria set for the purpose. Come to think of it, the breakdown for this legislated amount has not been supplied that one senator thinks it is like giving a blank check to the COMELEC under that fund cap for whatever stuff that are yet to be identified and will be purchased. Again, this goes beyond the normal implementation of projects that ought to be accompanied by such requirements as a program of work and all. That likewise does not perhaps close the door for subsequent fund request when found necessary from being approved. Well, then ʹ so be it. The other day, a subject matter expert in the person of a certain Ike Senerez was interviewed over Dos for Dos by Anthony Taberna and Gerry Baja and any average reader would tend to believe that indeed, the whole government project toward an automated vote count and all its attendant procedures and processes may not be fool-proof as intended. In other words, it can only result in a process of real time quick count of the votes across the country as the ballots have been cast and as they get transmitted from ͚node to node͛, as if it were, to reach its central station that officially registers it. Senerez has made a thorough and comprehensive discussion on the possibility that it can be hacked. The issue is then whether or not, this COMELEC project as prescribed by law ʹ can be the vicious object of hacking. And the subject matter expert believes that it is so to the point he dares challenge that it be put to test with him providing at least very ten very young hackers to do the trick. It is not known however if such proposal has reached the COMELEC chair but it is worth looking into.

The new COMELEC automated count should in fact be put to test before it can be launched. Let it not be said the Senerez proposal will do the COMELEC a disservice but a favor. After all, it is taxpayer͛s money being spent in the billions for what might turn out to be a faux pas. Besides, COMELEC ought to allay fears that the new ͚digital counting machine͛ may have embedded in it instructions that the naked eye cannot see but only by an optical reader. In short, the possibility that it would have been designed in such a way that what it actually does is a false count is never far removed. If that happens, one can say, this is a sophisticated form of cheating reminiscent of the ͚hello Garci͛ audio-tape scandal. Certainly, should the COMELEC allow a couple more tests, it does not have to limit itself with the offer from Ike Senerez and his ten little angels. Wisely enough, Ike did not make any claim of a being a hacker (in the good or bad sense of the word) but did claim to be a project manager who, among other things, would also know how hacking is being done. In fact, that interview educates listeners on the possibilities of hacking as explained in very understandable language and line of thinking. For instance, Senerez pointed out that there will be problem on who holds the key in an encryption that has been likened to a lock. Further, he made mention of the possibility of hacking happening while transmission is taking place or while the packets so-called are broken up while in transit such that the data that will reach its intended node will be different from the original data. And hacking can happen anywhere ʹ the hackers being able to operate from within the system and even more so outside of it. Said plainly, the system however automated has actually been approached manually. Maybe, this is what Senator Roxas is saying as the ͚garbage in, garbage out͛ in computerization. The point is, if the experts themselves are telling us that the government project is not immune from such attacks, it stands to reason that such concern be addressed with open-mind and let hacking show whether or not, this project has contained all the necessary security or safeguard against all possible forms of ͚criminal͛ activity in cyberspace. The cyberspace is simply replete with a long list of cyber crimes having been committed against thought-to-be well-guarded government cyber stations. And hackers all throughout the web come in different hats ʹ the black hat, the white hat, the gray hat, script kiddie, hactivist, whatever. All told, there is reason to be apprehensive if the system will be hacked by those with various motives and especially so on whether they are pro-GMA or are otherwise anti-GMA. Where motives are involved, there is even greater reason that all suspicion be allayed so that at the end of the day, everyone can say the election just had were clean, honest, and reflective of the true voice of the people And that therefore, those elected truly enjoy the full moral ascendancy to rule. Likewise, this is probably the time we can say that the voice of the people is in fact, the voice of God. If it is not so, elections ʹ automated or not ʹ would have served no real purpose. Let us give Senerez the chance to prove himself right if the COMELEC chair may please. u

 
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  Ms. Salma Angkaya Is the Philippines ready for automated election? Are we ready for something new? What is Automated Election System (AES)? Is it Feasible? How reliable can the computerized (automated) election system be? First, let us discuss the advantages and disadvantages that will emerge if our country engages with an automated election. Advantages It provides efficient way for voting with less hassle. Voters cannot prolong the process of voting and lined up in a crowd.

3ou get a tally immediately, rather than having to count votes by hand. Increased speed and efficiency of electoral task and faster electoral results Disadvantages Financial Savings Possibilities for the candidates can hire a computer experts to hack the system and manipulate the entire votes.Unless if the system is fully secured. Since it is computer based, there is no paper trail and no way to double check the tally. 
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Computerized voting is a superior form of casting ballots. It allows for fairer and faster voting. It takes many forms with different processes but how it is implemented depends on the technological facilities allocated for the elections procedure. Automated election system (AES) is a system that uses appropriate technology to accomplish and aid such tasks as voting, counting, consolidating, canvassing, and transmission of election result, and other electoral process. Republic Act No. 9369, which is the Amended Elections Automation Law provides for the use of two forms of AES.

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The voters have to shade the oval which corresponds to their candidate of choice using pencil in a specially scanned paper ballot. It is composed of 2 Laptops, 2 Digital Scanners, 2 card readers, 1 hub and 1 printer. The votes in the shaded ballots will then be scanned and counted using an Automated Counting Machine (ACM).

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The first is a paper-based election system defined as ͞a type of automated election system that uses paper ballots, records and counts votes, tabulates, consolidates, canvasses and transmits electronically the results of the vote count.͟ It uses the Optical Mark Reader (OMR) Technology.

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The second form is the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE). It is defined as ͞a type of automated election system that uses electronic ballots, records votes by means of a ballot display provided with mechanical or electrooptical components that can be activated by the voter, processes data by means of a computer program, records voting data and ballot images, and transmits voting results electronically.͟ voters are provided with a Voting Pad where the photos of candidates can be selected by pressing on the desired picture. Once the vote is final, a receipt is generated after pressing ͚BOTO͚. The Board of Election Inspectors keeps the receipt just in case there are complaints raised.

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Computerized elections would not be possible without Republic Act No. 9369 and the lawmakers behind it. But, ultimately, this new system of voting cannot be implemented without the technology need to run the whole system. As far as the government is concerned, making such provisions is the extent of their ability to provide computerized elections. A third party is needed to fully implement the Act by providing the government and the Philippines with the technology needed to run the elections. Here is where the technology providers come in. Different firms have showed interest in providing the machinery and computers for the Philippines͛ automated elections. 11 of which are foreign companies, though only one of them will be chosen and be given the contract through a series of bidding. These are US firms Sequioa, Avante, ES/S, Hart and Scantron; Venezuela͛s Smartmatic; United Kingdom͛s DRS; India͛s Bharat; South Korea͛s DVS Korea; Gilat Solution of Israel and Spain͛s Indra System. Whoever gets the contract will be renting out about 80,000 machines that will be used for the 2010 elections. Two of these providers have already serviced the elections here in the Philippines, specifically the c&& 
 

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If one out of ten Filipinos have no ability to read and write at the same time, is it possible for the Philippines to have automated elections? Let us remember that for the past decades, Filipinos have successfully voted even though some do not know how to read and write. Clearly, the Philippines will be pushing through with the automated elections by the year 2010. An automated election will be feasible in the Philippines with the right and proper technology or system to be used. There are certain problems that it might encounter. Electricity in the rural areas of the Philippines is not always available; if it is available it is not that reliable. If the Commission on Elections will use Direct Recording Equipment Process there would be a problem in deploying the hundreds of thousands of units to different locations all through out the Philippines. A number of technical personnel are needed to install the system. The government already provided a budget for the transmission of the machines as well as payments needed for the technical personnel. All the voters must be trained to use the DRE system. According to Senator Gordon, Filipinos are smart enough to participate in an automated election. He also suggested that an automated election is going to be more feasible if there would be a national ID system based on biometrics.

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  It is feasible. An automated election, for a fact, cannot fully prevent cheating but only certain forms of it could be prevented through check and balance. It is also a fact that there is no system that is tamper proof. The following are plausible forms of check and balance: paper audit trail of ballots, protection of software source code, no switching of ballot boxes, the testing of the technologies, and the addition of some amendments on the Senate Bill No. 2231. The Automated Election Bill in the Philippines requires that there should be a voter verifiable paper audit trail. This feature of the bill will reduce the incidents of vote buying and increase the security and credibility of the people¶s votes. The voter verifiable audit trail enables the voters to review and edit their votes. On the same note the right amount of protection on the automated elections' software source code would prevent hackers on hacking on to the computers for counting and thus prevents the tampering on the number of votes. On the old system, manual transmissions of ballot boxes allow the possibility of ballot switching but with the new system, it would be prevented. Another way to check if it is feasible to have an automated election without cheating to be prevalent is to test the technology itself. The technology should be checked if it is efficient and if it works the way it should be to further eliminate certain problems with it. By testing the technology, COMELEC will know beforehand if the system can be tampered as well as its errors. The Senate approved Senate Bill No. 2231, the Amendment to the Election Automation Law states additional security for the random auditing of the system and system for recount. Other kinds of check and balance are instead of writing the name, voters marks the candidate of their choice, the voter should physically feed the ballot into the machine where the ballot has its picture taken, the election returns are proposed to be automatically transmitted, the OMR machines should not be equip with any kind of communication devices, there should be seven copies of the ER to be sent to different computers, COMELEC would provide PC¶s for the different parties so that they can follow the tabulation, and the statement of vote would be projected in each canvassing center so that the watchers can compare the totals.

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?? The paper discussed the advent of online elections that would probably dawn on us, Filipinos, next elections. It provided a background on the basics of online/automated elections, the components needed to make it possible, the methods that would be employed to guarantee the integrity safety of the votes, a discussion on the general feasibility as grounded to the advantages and disadvantages of the technology, and everything was then contextualized to fit the circumstances of the Philippines. It can then be concluded that online/automated/computerized elections can be possible in the Philippines if sufficient training and preparations are employed in spearheading it. The long-term benefits of the said platform for voting greatly exceed the initial technological and training costs that it would entail making it a feasible investment in the

future for our country. But even if this new voting platform is grounded on technology and is streamlined by modernity, it is still not foolproof. Many problems were discussed regarding the possibility of hacking and the crashing of the system but it can still be considered safer than the manual voting system that we have been implementing for so long now. The problem of digital divide was also alluded to the discussion. The Philippines, as a developing country, has regions and groups of people that are deprived of technology and proper training and education. This might lead to an accidental and virtual exclusion of these people and towns from the up and coming online elections, which might possibly make lessen the voters¶ turnout and the whole democracy of our elections. It can also be deduced that the implementation of the online elections will not only strengthen the integrity of our votes but in the process close the digital divide that we are experiencing right now. By training our people to use ICT, we are making them ready to use it for more things to come-not just for mere electoral usage. To end, our country might be a long way to go from being industrialized and fully prepared to reap the benefits of ICT in every major part of our everyday lives, but the conduct of the 2010 online/automated elections is a still a big step forward towards the achievement of a truly democratic and honest elections and the closure of the digital divide as a whole. Our infrastructures might not be at par to other countries and our people might not be fully informed and trained yet, but these shortcomings can be greatly remedied if we are equipped with the willingness to learn and adapt to our ever-changing world.