Comelec chairman George Garcia said the goal of “internet voting” is to increase voter turnout among overseas Filipinos, citing only a 39 percent voter turnout in the 2022 polls, the highest recorded since the country allowed overseas voting.
“Spending P411 million (for overseas voting) but resulting in a dismal 39 percent turnout is not value for money so to speak. Why are not so many overseas Filipinos voting personally or by mail? Maybe they need another mode,” Garcia said.
He said the approval of internet voting was based on Section 16.11 of Republic Act (RA) No. 9189; and Sections 23 and 28 of RA No. 10590 which mandates the agency to look into the possible use of electronic mail, internet or other secured networks, whether paper-, electronic- or internet-based technology, in the casting of votes of qualified overseas Filipino voters.
He said the poll body is currently crafting a roadmap for the conduct of electronic voting.
The Comelec has been conducting live test runs of internet voting systems since 2021. (SunStar Philippines)