EDITORIAL - Are we really ready for automated polls?

There are still many sectors in society who are pushing for partial poll automation this May despite the advice of a council tasked to study if partial automation for the May polls is viable that such is just not possible yet because of too little time to prepare. Are these sectors really convinced that Filipinos are ready for automated polls?

There was great clamor for poll automation the moment President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed in to law Republic Act 9369, which authorized the use of an automated election system in the country, with a partial implementation in selected areas in the coming May midterm elections. The Commission on Elections was, however, hesitant in implementing the new law because there was no time to prepare for it, considering that the president signed the measure into law only last January 23, or a little over three months before the scheduled elections.

An automated poll system would really do great wonders to elections in the Philippines. Errors in the counting of votes and the long wait for the proclamation of winners are among the issues that will be addressed by an automated system.

However, before pushing for poll automation with only a little over two months to prepare, we should also think if the voters are ready for it. Those pushing for partial poll automation for the midterm elections should consider that there is a need to educate the voters on the system and there is also a need to train personnel to handle the system. Remember that not all Filipinos, even though they live in highly urbanized cities and progressive provinces, are comfortable with new technology such as computers.

Another thing to consider is the capability of the poll system. Don't get us wrong. We trust the technical expertise of those who developed the system. But come on. This is the elections we are talking about. We cannot afford system crashes, power outages, hackings and the like.

The country should be proud that after so many years of suffering manual elections, we already have an automated poll system in place. However, before we jump into the world of hi-tech elections, let us make sure first that we are ready for it.