House suffrage panel okays early voting for seniors, PWD

The House suffrage and electoral reforms panel on Wednesday approved a bill allowing senior citizens or those aged 60 and above as well as persons with disabilities to vote earlier than the scheduled Election Day.

The panel approved the still unnumbered House bill which will allow eligible seniors and PWDs to vote within seven working days before the date set for the national and local elections, provided that they have themselves registered for such early voting.

The bill provides for a nationwide registration for senior citizens and PWDs to make them qualified for the early voting privilege. The said registration system, the bill states, should be done in coordination with local government units, the National Council on Disability Affairs,  the Commission on Human Rights, the Department of Health and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Aside from early voting, the measure also mandates the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to ensure that polling places are safe and accessible to the elderly and PWDs, as well as equipped with the necessary communication, visual and physical aids, as mandated under Republic Act No.  10366 or An Act Authorizing  the Commission  on Elections to  Establish  Precincts Assigned to Accessible Polling Places Exclusively for Persons with Disabilities and Senior Citizens.

In addition, the bill also tasks the Comelec to organize an intensive information campaign  on  early voting for qualified senior citizens and PWDs.

“The primary argument in favor of early voting is that it increases turnout by making it easier to vote. In addition to the statistical evidence, early voting is advocated by voting rights groups whose primary concern is making voting as convenient as possible for voters, because it gives them significantly more time to complete their ballots or go to the polls,” Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez, one of the authors of the measure, said in his explanatory note.

“Some election administrators also prefer early voting because it allows them more time to process ballots, relieves some of the strain on voting systems that occurs on Election Day, cuts down long lines, and reduces the number of poll workers needed. In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought,” Rodriguez added.

Representatives Horacio Suansing of Sultan Kudarat and Mikaela Suansing of Nueva Ecija, for their part, said that seniors and PWD deserve the same early voting privilege already being enjoyed by the Filipinos residing or working overseas, government officials and employees, media practitioners, members of the armed forces and police force.

“Voting is a fundamental right of the people, one which defines the Philippines as a democratic country. The experience of senior citizens and PWDs during the May 2022 elections, where they had to endure long lines, crowded precincts and extended waiting times due to technical problems in voting machines just to exercise their due right to suffrage, underscore the need to grant elderly voters and PWDs the privilege to vote at an earlier period than the mandated voting day for the general citizenry,” they added. — Llanesca T. Panti/RSJ, GMA Integrated  News