Comelec Rejects Hybrid Poll System Proposal for 2025, Citing Legal Requirement for Automated Elections

A plan to switch to a hybrid polling method for the upcoming election was rejected by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

According to Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia, the law mandates that the poll commission conduct automated elections by 2025.

“Kakailanganin po kasi ng isang batas para magpatupad ng tinatawag na hybrid system,” Garcia told TeleRadyo Serbisyo.

The Comelec is not advocating for a hybrid election system since it would result in major election delays due to computerized transmission and canvassing of results and manual voting and counting at the local level.

Because of the automated system's lack of transparency, the alliance Alyansa ng Nagkakaisang Mamamayan (ANIM) has called for hybrid elections. Voters will be able to verify that their ballot was counted in 2025 by viewing a picture of it on the machine. Nine copies of election returns will be printed by the machines after voting, and the results will then be transmitted. By doing this, it will be easier to guarantee that the outcomes are precise and available to all viewers.