Still the doubts persist – not only about Smartmatic, but about automated elections in general. The doubts hinge on the lack of transparency. At the end of the voting period, a precinct machine simply spews out the result in a flash. And those who know computers say that the voting machines can be programmed to come out with any desired result. There is, therefore, a move to hold manual counting of ballots in every precinct. This was how it was done in the elections before 2010 and entire communities gathered to watch the proceedings; it was Philippine democracy in action. The precinct results could be used as basis for a recount in case of a protest. They could be transmitted electronically to town centers and ultimately to the national center, thus achieving the goal of determining election results quickly. This has been called an “open election system – manual count with electronic transmission of results. This would not need a large budget – the measly one approved by the DBM will do. And it will help restore lost faith in election results on the part of so many people today.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 03:16:17 +0000
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