by Gus Lagman

TransparentElections.org.ph
The Manual Election System
1. Ballots tallied by BEI in
each precinct and ERs
prepared
2. BEIs bring ERs to
CMBOCs
3. CMBOCs canvass ERs
and prepare SOVs and
COCs; bring them to
PBOCs
4. PBOCs canvass COCs
and prepare provincial
COCs and SOVs; bring
them to NBOC
5. NBOC (Comelec)
canvasses COCs;
Congress canvasses
Pres/VP COCs
The Manual Election
Process
the VOTING period 08 hours

PRECINCT COUNTING 12 hours

CANVASSING 40
days!
Municipal canvassing
Provincial canvassing
National canvassing
It’s very obvious which phase should be
automated!
Looking at it from another
perspective
If we change the voting system, then we have
to train 45 million voters on the new system; we
also have to train some 300,000 teachers.
If we automate the precinct counting, then
the process loses its transparency; counting will
not be seen by the voting public; automated
cheating becomes a real possibility.
If we automate only the canvassing, then we
still cut down the election process from 40 days to
maybe 3-5 days. We can still prevent wholesale
cheating (dagdag-bawas).
The question to ask is …
Did the Comelec consider these
basic facts before it decided on
which technology to use?
Most likely not …
Because they chose one that
changes the voting system and
automates the precinct counting.
The two things we are all
very worried about …
1. Failure of elections

2. Automated “Garci”
Failure of Elections
 1st country in the world - from pure manual to full nationwide
automation in one election exercise
 Smartmatic’s first experience in PCOS of this magnitude
 Delivery and testing of PCOS delayed by 4 months
 Fabrication of ballot boxes only started a few weeks ago; no
longer transparent box
 Printing of ballots not yet completed (1,631 versions)
 Order for Ballot Secrecy Folders cancelled
 Indelible ink ordered did not pass the test
 Logistics is a nightmare
 Many BEIs (teachers) not yet trained
 Voters not yet trained
 45,000 technicians not yet hired, trained
 Possibility that not all can vote very high
 “General Instructions” not complete
Automated “Garci”
Why are we deeply concerned about
the high probability of an Automated
“Garci”?
1. Comelec chose a technology that counts votes in secret.
2. Comelec did not allow “source code” review.
3. PCOS print-out/display of voters’ choices disabled.
4. Smartmatic to generate both public and private keys;
recently, Comelec said the keys will already be pre-fed
into PCOS.
5. Comelec will proclaim winners before audit is done.
6. No General Instructions (GI) for random manual audit,
continuity plan, protest process.
7. UV ink check disabled.
8. Smartmatic managing the whole process?
9. Digital data to be transmitted to Dominant Party,
Dominant Opposition, Citizens Arm, KBP, in round-about
way.
The election mantra today all over
the world …

“Secret voting,
Public counting”
How can “Garci” be
automated?

1.Hide a “cheating” program in PCOS

(automated retail “dagdag-bawas”)
2.Store preset results data in CF cards
3.Tamper with digital results during
transmission
4.Manipulate results through canvassing
programs (automated wholesale “dagdag-
bawas”)
 1. Voters mark pre-

PCOS (Precinct Count

printed ballots
2. Voters feed ballots

Optical Scan)
into OMR (PCOS)
3. Ballots drop
automatically into
ballot box
4. At end of voting, votes
counted; ERs printed
5. PCOS electronically
CITY/MUNICIPAL PROVINCIAL NATIONAL
sends ERs and
BOARD OF CANVASSERS BOARD OF CANVASSERS BOARD OF CANVASSERS scanned ballots to
CMBOC w/c will print
SOV, COC
6. ERs also sent to
dominant party,
dominant opposition,
citizens’ arm, and
media
DOMINANT DOMINANT CITIZENS MEDIA &
PARTY OPPOSITION ARM OTHERS
7. CMBOC sends
PRECINCTS SOV/COC to PBOC w/c
will print Prov SOVs
and COCs
8. PBOC sends
PCOS PSOV/PCOC to NBOC
w/c will print final
results
26 days before E-day, can we still do
something to make our elections
credible?
In implementing an IT system, a pilot run
and/or a parallel run is always done
Despite a provision in the law, Comelec
did not do a pilot run
This time, we have to demand that the
Comelec at least does a parallel run
Manually count all ballots, but only on 3
positions – president, vice-president, and
mayor
Parallel run will eliminate many of
our concerns about an Automated
“Garci”
1. Comelec chose a technology that counts votes in secret
2. Comelec did not allow “source code” review
3. PCOS print-out/display of voters’ choices disabled
4. Smartmatic to generate both public and private keys;
recently, Comelec said the keys will already be pre-fed
into PCOS
5. Comelec will proclaim winners before audit is done
6. No GI for random manual audit, continuity plan, protest
process
7. UV ink check disabled
8. Smartmatic managing the whole process
9. Digital data to be transmitted to Dominant Party,
Dominant Opposition, Citizens Arm, KBP, in round-about
way
Questions the Comelec might
ask:
Q: It might delay the release of election results
A: Our time and motion study shows that this extra step
will only take 3 hours for a precinct with 600 voters
Q: What if there are discrepancies between the PCOS
and manual counts?
A: Until today, Comelec has been claiming that PCOS is
accurate; if it’s not, then why did they choose this
machine in the first place?
Q: But what if there are?
A: Then count the votes for all positions. This is
estimated to take approx. 2 days and the canvassing an
extra 2 days.
Questions (cont.)
Q: There’s no time to prepare for it
A: Part of their contingency plan is to print
forms needed for manual counting. They
might as well print for 100% of precincts.
Q: It’s difficult to implement.
A: It’s not. And it’s a small price to pay for
credible elections.
Q: It’s not in the law
A: The law does not prohibit it either
 "SECTION 1.Declaration of Policy. - It is policy of the
State to ensure free, orderly, honest, peaceful, credible
and informed elections, plebiscites, referenda, recall
and other similar electoral exercises by improving on
the election process and adopting systems, which shall
involve the use of an automated election system that
will ensure the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot and
all election, consolidation and transmission documents
in order that the process shall be transparent and
credible and that the results shall be fast, accurate and
reflective of the genuine will of the people.
 "The State recognizes the mandate and authority of the
Commission to prescribe adoption and use of the most
suitable technology of demonstrated capability taking
into account the situation prevailing in the area and the
funds available for the purpose."
Ours is a most reasonable request. It is a
simple and most logical solution to the
uncertainties in the coming election.
There is absolutely no reason why the
Comelec will not accept our
recommendation.
All they need to do is call. We are most
willing to sit down with them to discuss
the details of this solution.
Thank you