Overvoting, ACM glitches among issues in 2025 elections in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The conduct of the midterm elections last May 12 in Davao City and other parts of Mindanao was generally well but there were instances of missing names, voter confusion and errors of the new automated counting machines (ACMs).

Across polling centers in Davao City, Davao Oriental, Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao de Oro, South Cotabato, Surigao del Sur and Butuan, voters waited patiently under scorching heat index, and had to bear delays in the voting process with the glitches in the ACMs.

Most of the complaints on the ACMs include overheating, paper jam, rejecting ballots and cases of misreading ballots as overvoting. 

ACMs wrong reading

While the technical issues were resolved in minutes, voters were more disappointed when the ACMs misread their votes cast for senators.

“I shaded 11 candidates but the machine only counted eight,” said Judita Mainit, who voted in Brgy. Rizal, Bansalan, Davao del Sur.

Judita wants accountability from the Commission on Election over this issue, as she wished this should not have happened to her or to anyone.

There are cases also of ACMs reading more than the shaded votes, such as in F. Bustamante Central Elementary School in Tibungco, Davao City, when some voters raised complaints that they voted for ten senatorial candidates but the ACMs read out 11.

There are cases when the machine rejected a ballot for “overvoting”. 

First time voter Matthew Payumo expresses his disappointment after his senate votes were marked as overvote by the ACM in his precinct in Manuel Roxas Elementary School in Poblacion, Davao City.

“I checked (my ballot) three times and made sure that I had shaded the right number of candidates. I felt cheated over what happened, “ he added.

When he reported the issue to the electoral board member in his precinct in Manuel A. Roxas Elementary School at Ponce Street, Poblacion, he was told it was beyond their control as the ballot had already been processed.

In a Mindanews report, the Archdiocesan Citizen Engagement Committee – Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (ACE-PPCRV) in Davao City received 17 complaints of ACM discrepancies.

Half of election-related issues raised by voters dealt with ACMs.  A joint statement from independent watchdogs Kontra Daya and Vote Report PH released on May 13 showed there 798  reports of ACM problems.  They said voters cite ink smudging while ballots were being fed to the counting machine, overly sensitive scanners that read ballots as overvotes.

Aside from these glitches, cases of overheating delayed voting in some precincts.

Other complaints by voters include the lack of ventilation and chairs for waiting areas, missing names, confusing assignments of clustered precincts. In some school precincts in Toril, voters had to wiggle through cramped hallways.

Problems in transmission of votes were noted such as in Bansalan where election board members have to go out to the school field to find a strong signal.  Even areas in Davao experienced poor transmission that they had to bring the election results to the City Board of Canvassers.

Election violations

Kontra Daya and Vote Report PH accounted for 200 incidents of illegal campaigning, such as handing out sample ballots near polling places.  Davao Today volunteers observed these incidents in Maa and Buhangin coming from both the Duterte and Nograles camps.

Voter disenfranchisement, where voters were not able to vote as they could not find their names or precincts in voters list, ranks the third highest cases  with 144.

There was also an incident of tampering of ballots and coercion in Sultan Kudarat in two school precincts where voters were handed ballots that were pre-shaded for a party-list supported by a local political clan.

Comelec said in an interview that the ACM issues are fewer this election compared to the 2022 elections. But Kontra Daya still calls for accountability on the problems encountered by voters.

Software issue

One major issue raised by Kontra Daya and also by Bayan Muna Party-list was the last minute upgrading of the ACM software that did not undergo auditing by parties participating in the election.

The lack of transparency on the “upgrading” of the software casts doubts on the integrity of the election process.

“The Comelec failed to explain the use of unaudited software in the ACM compromising the integrity of the elections. We repeat, version 3.5.0 is not the same with 3.4.0 which has TEC certification, “ Kontra Daya said.

Bayan Muna had urged Comelec yesterday to resort to manual counting of votes with this issue.

Comelec switched to a new supplier of the voting machine this election for South Korea’s Miru System after spending a decade or five elections using counting machines from Smartmatic.

Election watchdogs have raised issues on transparency of votes and urged a hybrid form in the election process to ensure transparency and integrity of the election process. (davaotoday.com)

With reports from Christine Bustamante/Atenews, Jiesen Riexen Ferraren/Atenews, Janah Gozon/ UP Himati, Ervince Apatan and Joshua Angelo Ybañez