Online post on voting procedure after VCM malfunction NEEDS CONTEXT

A netizen’s online post complaining about poll watchers’ instructions after a vote counting machine (VCM) in Pasig City supposedly broke down needs context.

On election day, the netizen insinuated poll fraud after she was asked to leave behind her ballot and let poll watchers feed it to the VCM once the machine got repaired or replaced. Commission on Elections Resolution No. 10497, or the contingency procedures for the 2019 midterm elections, shows that this is in-line with procedure.

It states that in case of a VCM malfunction, the Electoral Board should give voters a choice whether or not to waive their right to be issued a voters’ receipt and let poll watchers batch-feed the ballots before the close of polls, or they can wait for the VCM issue to be resolved for them to personally feed the ballot into the machine.

The netizen did not mention whether she was given the second choice or not.

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