Filipinos based overseas may be granted ballot receipts when they cast their votes at polling stations from April 9 to May 9.
With the highest number of registered voters ever, the voice of overseas Filipinos are now more significant in the counting of ballots.
But apart from the stronger voice in elections, Filipinos abroad may get something voters in the Philippines will not: ballot receipts.
Chairman Andres Bautista of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has said Tuesday that the poll agency is considering this option given that Filipinos overseas are granted a month to cast their votes, thus giving them an ample time to print receipts.
This is in contrary to voters in the Philippines who are not going to get receipts from Comelec for two reasons: it could encourage vote buying; ballot receipts could be used to sell to candidates as proof of selecting them. Another is that it takes time to print and read those receipts. Voters in the Philippines can only cast their ballots on May 9.
Clamor for ballot receipts have been raised in the Philippines, citing that the law requires a paper trail of votes. But Comelec says the ballots themselves serve as the paper trail. But the law itself becomes a formidable cause why it’s logistically difficult to carry out the printing of ballot receipts. The law states that national elections will be held on the second Monday of May. This year, about 18,000 local and national candidates will vie for the votes of 54.4 million registered voters in the Philippines, all on the same day.