Introduction for Automated Elections

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. 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. Here, 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. This kind of technology is pretty
much familiar in the Philippines. It is used in the National Secondary Aptitude Test
(NSAT), formerly the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE), given by
the Department of Education (DepEd), and in the Civil Service Commission (CSC)
Licensure Examinations and other examinations given by the Professional
Regulatory Commission (PRC), wherein the answer sheet is composed of ovals
and the oval corresponding to the chosen answer would be shaded by the
examinee.
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 electro-optical 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 ‘BOTO‘. The Board of Election Inspectors keeps the
receipt just in case there are complaints raised. However, DRE Technology can
only be deployed in areas where communications is available and reliable.
Advantages
As Filipinos, we hate knowing that we are being taken advantage of
whether be it in terms elections or anything in general. We hate that we are being
governed by unworthy people and people who are not deserving of the position.
How then are they able to achieve such feats? We can’t be possibly sure but a
rational explanation would be that we are being cheated in the elections. And thus,
by applying this technology we are able to prevent this from happening. The users
will benefit from it and the country as a whole because the integrity of the elections
would be objectified and strengthened. The public will also be satisfied because
faster results are guaranteed by the usage of automated and online elections. The
government will also be benefited because lesser costs will have to be allocated for
the elections in the long run.

Is the Philippines ready for automated election? Are we ready for something
new? First, let us discuss the advantages and disadvantages that will emerge if our
country engages with an automated election. Smartmatic (also referred as
Smartmatic Corp. or Smartmatic International) is a multinational corporation
founded in 2000 that specializes in the design and deployment of complex
purpose-specific technology solutions. Smartmatic offers the Smartmatic
Automated Election System (SAES), a unified voting, scrutiny, tabulation,
allocation and result broadcast solution -suitable for any type of election- which
was officially released in 2003. SAES offers the possibility to verify and audit
results through different means, guaranteeing zero numerical inconsistencies
between all stages covered by every single vote, from actual casting to final
scrutiny. Smartmatic provides us other benefits and advantages if we will deal with
automation of election.
1. Financial Savings
Though automated elections deals with acquiring computer, hence will cost
a large amount of money, it can still cut cost in other expenses, i.e. labor cost.
Since the computer would do the counting. That means fewer laborers are needed.
Normally, automation requires a large up-front investment in hardware and
software, as well as expensive training of electoral workers and running
educational campaigns for voters. Automated elections guarantees short- and long-
term returns that can greatly compensate for the initial investment.
2. Increased speed and efficiency of electoral task and faster electoral results
The computer to be used has internal tools that can increase speed and
efficiency for some important works during the election. Also, using computers
would make the election itself faster. Voting manually would consume time for the
voters to write name of the candidates, etc. Also, with vast advancement of
technology, the machine/ computer has a tool that can count the votes faster and
more accurate. Using computers/machines, they would be the one to tally and
transmit the votes to the electoral board without human intervention. The
automated electoral system mechanisms significantly reduce the chances of errors,
because vote counting is based on an internal machine count rather than on
individual ballots, which can be tampered with.
3. Improved capacity to identify and prevent frauds
With the system using ultra-safe encryption algorithms to store and transmit
each vote from the SAES voting machine to the tabulation centers, tampering of
votes will be prevented and the integrity of the elections would be higher.

Disadvantages
The problem with online voting systems is that those who do not have any
experience or knowledge on using or manipulating computers would find it hard
and tedious to vote through computers and as such will have a harder time to cast
their ballots. This might lead to lesser voter turnouts, hence, lesser participation
from the general public that might affect the usefulness of the elections. This might
be a hindrance to our being democratic and liberal as a people because we might
accidentally shut down those who are illiterate in computers by implementing an
online platform for the elections.

On the other hand, one of the disadvantages of using computers/ machine in

election is the broad knowledge of man in terms of technology. Though computers
may have high securities, there are many computer “geeks” that can bombard the
computers and the system as a whole. They have many ways to hack those
computers to be used in the elections. Hackers are the number one enemy of this
system. Hackers are known to infiltrate and manipulate even the most sophisticated
computer programs in the world. Also, technology, though seems to be perfect,
may still have errors in its components. We all know that no computer system is
100% tamper-proof, or foolproof. We are not sure that it, the automated election,
may give us the best results of the elections.
 However, despite the proven technology, some say they are unclear how
well it will work and say they worry that the machines will not accurately record
the votes, either because they are unreliable or because they have been rigged. A
series of problems with the machines have helped fuel this uncertainty. For
example, to prevent the use of fake ballots, the PCOS contain an ultraviolet
scanner that can read a special code printed in ultraviolet ink on authentic ballots
(similar to the watermarks used on some currency to help prevent counterfeiting).
In pilot testing, however, the ultraviolet scanner was rejecting too many authentic
ballots, and that feature had to be disabled. The problem is likely to do with the
printing of the mark rather than with the machine itself, and glitches like this are to
be expected with new technology. However, small, unrelated problems can easily
undermine confidence in the system. Unfortunately, during one of the final rounds
of testing on May 3, widespread glitches appeared again, requiring reprogramming
of the machines and postponement of further tests to May 7, just three days before
the election. Despite fears that the problems might be part of a plot to induce a
failure of elections, COMELEC staunchly maintains that the election can go ahead
on Monday, May 10, across the nation.
Many people also say they worry that the results will be manipulated, either
inside the PCOS or after transmission. Although no one has yet demonstrated how
this might be done, a lack of transparency related to the proprietary software of the
PCOS and the processes surrounding vote aggregation fuel unease. The history of
electoral cheating has made some citizens less likely to trust this process, or any
process.on.
Apart from technological concerns (which I feel are probably overblown),
there are legitimate concerns with the potential failure of associated election
logistics. Because the new polling system is expected to handle significantly more
voters per hour than the old manual system, the number of precincts (polling
stations) has been reduced from 250,000 to under 80,000. Even if this works
technically, poll locations can have a considerable effect on turnout. Two out of
three voters will go to a new station location, and for some of the 50 million
registered voters in the Philippines, this could lower turnout or cause confusion on
election day.
 Filipino polling officials do have a reputation for effective improvisation,
and run mostly credible elections when faced with confusing instructions, lack of
materials, and a stressful political environment. But even this may not be enough to
overcome our last concern: public perception.
Even if voters and officials understand the process, the machines are
accurate, and the transmission of results precise, doubts will persist. The new
process is just that: new; and it is less transparent than the old, while the intensity
of political rivalries has not decreased. Every time a race is close, or the outcome
goes against conventional wisdom, the losing candidate is likely to cry foul and
blame the new system.

References:
https://asiafoundation.org/2010/05/05/will-automated-elections-in-the-philippines-increase-public-
confidence/

https://iskwiki.upd.edu.ph/index.php/Online/Automated_Elections_in_the_Philippines