Press Release
August 12, 2008

ARMM automated polls a step closer to a better elections system--Gordon

Senator Richard Gordon said that the country has taken a significant step towards a better elections system after the first ever automated polls in the ARMM.

Gordon, author of the Automated Elections Law, went to Cotabato on Monday to personally oversee the conduct of elections there. The automated polls used two systems--the Direct Recording Electronic and the Optical Media Reader.

"This is just the first step in a series of reforms we will take on the country's elections system. We have seen it work in ARMM, and we will see it work in the national elections. This will restore our people's trust and confidence in our electoral process. With a credible elections system, more people will be encouraged to take part in future elections," Gordon said.

He said the new elections system prevents cheating, while the quick release of results makes the system more credible than the manual elections where several methods of massive fraud are able to pass through.

"With a computerized system of elections, wholesale cheating is averted. It would be hard for anyone to alter the input since the system is not manual anymore. Kung dadayain mo pa ang makina, dayain mo na lang ang ATM," Gordon said.

Gordon had been hands on in every detail of the automated polls. He authored RA 9369 or the amended Automated Elections Law; pushed for its implementation; saw it work during the mock elections; introduced it to the people and encouraged the ARMM populace to exercise their right of suffrage using the automated system; and on elections day, personally supervised the conduct of elections in the region.

Gordon emphasized the importance of the automated polls saying that this shows that the elections in the country can be improved; that we can do away with the traditional system of manual elections that has brought many controversies; and that, as a country, this shows that we can do better.

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