Comelec: Voters must submit biometrics data to vote in 2016

More than 7 million registered voters will be barred from voting in the 2016 local and national polls if they fail to submit their biometrics data to the Commission on Election (Comelec) in time.

 

“Millions of registered voters still have no biometrics in the Comelec’s list of voters. Fail to fix that before October 2015 and they can't vote,” Comelec Spokesman James Jimenez tweeted on Tuesday.

 

Jimenez, in another tweet, added that voters who registered before 2004 need to validate their registration starting May 6, 2014, lest they lose their right to vote.
 

Remember: Registered voters WITHOUT biometrics could have voted in 2013 and 2010, but STILL WON'T BE ABLE TO VOTE in 2016 without biometrics

— James Jimenez (@jabjimenez) March 12, 2014

 

Comelec commissioner Grace Padaca announced in February that voters may register in any Comelec office even on weekends. In addition to new voters, poll officers will accommodate voters who wish to update their records.

Voters' registration will be from May 6, 2014 until October 31, 2015, Sunday to Thursday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to Comelec Resolution No. 9853.

 

RA 10367 states that voters who fail to submit for validation prior to the May 2016 elections shall be deactivated from the voters’ list and shall not be allowed to vote.

 

Biometrics refer to the registrant's picture, fingerprint, and signature recorded by a computer during the registration period. This data is supposedly used to purge multiple registrants from the final voter's list.

 

A step-by-step registration guide, as well as a link to a precint finder, is avalable at the Comelec website. — Rie Takumi/JDS, GMA News