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DATE: PUBLICATION: Philippine
Inquirer TITLE:
Breakthrough AUTHOR: Conrado de
Quiros WHILE the votes in the German polls
were being counted last September, everyone kept commenting on TV that it set a
record for the longest time before the winner was known. The reason for it was
that Gerhardt Schroeder and Edmund Stoiber were battling each other neck and
neck. The polls closed at That was the second thing that bowled
me over about the German elections -- the first was that they could not
comprehend the concept of cheating -- which was that they could not comprehend
the concept of a winner in elections being known days or even weeks or months
later. Their concept of a record delay was seven hours! The winner was normally
known a couple of hours after the polling stations closed.
That of course is unheard of in this
country. Courtesy of the ballot box, which entails a cumbersome registration and
verification process, the physical transportation of the votes to the counting
centers, and their being read one by one, the winners could only be known after
many a sleepless night. And only after the place was littered with corpses from
people trying to attack and defend the ballot boxes. I've always argued for junking the
ballot box on the very basic ground that delay equals cheating. That is an
obvious equation. Any process that is as cumbersome as this will invite cheating
as resolutely as anyone wearing the sign "I love Arabs" will invite mayhem in
Consequently, I've always plugged for
the modernization of the electoral process, and have railed against the
inability of the Comelec to do so. Luzviminda Tangcanco in particular may not
escape blame for it. But comes now a group that has developed a system that
stands not just to modernize Philippine elections but to revolutionize them
altogether. That is the MegaGroup of Computer Companies headed by Rafael Garcia
III. They've devised an electronic system that covers the entire range of the
voting process, from registration, to voting, to counting, to recounting, and
makes voting a veritable joy. They call it Botong Pinoy.
They made a demonstration last week
at the Ateneo de Naga, and the results were awesome. The system to begin with
makes it impossible for anyone to register twice, removing the bane of flying
voters completely. Registration entails having yourself photographed digitally
and pressing your left and right thumb on a box. The actual voting is not unlike going
to a Metrobank ATM. A teleprompter verbally advises you what to do. You can
choose whatever language you want from a list by touching the screen. Then you
just keep touching "Next" after you've finished a page. The beauty of it is that
the pictures of the candidates are displayed on the screen along with their
names. All you have to do, for example, when voting for senators, is to touch
their pictures and they are automatically listed down. If you don't want to vote
for all 12 senators, you can always press "Next" after you're through. That is
true for all the candidates down to the lowest local level.
The counting is instantaneous. The
votes are sent automatically to the central system as soon as they are made. The
system can count a million votes in a second, so all it takes to count 40
million voters is 40 seconds! That eliminates completely dagdag-bawas, where
people add or erase zeroes from the physical tallies. As an added precaution, the votes
will be backed up by a computer printout with a barcode to make sure it is the
only one of its kind. You can always ask for a copy of your vote, making it
impossible for a candidate you voted for in your district to register a zero in
the tally. You have proof of it. I tried the system myself. I became
the guinea pig in the demonstration at the Ateneo de Naga. Registration took all
of two minutes. Part of the reason for it is that I am reasonably computer
literate, and more importantly do not have a fear of technology, which can be a
problem for other people. But I will come to that later on. My picture was
taken, I pressed my thumbprints on the box, and filled up the usual data
sheet-name, date of birth, place of birth, etc. That was it, I was now a
registered voter. I was ready to vote. The teleprompter asked me what
language of instruction I wanted, and I chose English. After pressing "Next,"
the pictures of some ten presidential candidates with their names below appeared
on the screen. A wild applause erupted behind me when I touched the picture of
Raul Roco. Next the vice president and then the senators. I chose only five
senators and pressed "Next." The teleprompter asked me if I had closed my votes
at five, and touched the "Yes" box. Again, I took only all of two minutes. I
would imagine someone less familiar with the technology, or more intimidated by
it, might take longer. Now, here's the fun part. They asked
me to register again, and I did. The computer said sorry, there was already
another person by that name and thumbprint. I understand that in another demo
someone registered a second time without glasses and wearing a fake mustache.
Same response: there was no getting around the thumbprints. I tried voting twice
as well, upon instructions. The computer answered in a flash: "You have already
voted. " Impressive as hell. (To be
concluded) |
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