Eleksyon 2025: Who can and can't vote in PH elections?

As the 2025 National and Local Elections (NLE) draw near, have you ever stopped to check if you or members of your family and community are actually allowed to vote?

Balitanghali's Eleksyon 2025 special report takes a closer look at the voter qualifications, registration numbers, and turnout statistics ahead of the upcoming polls.

Republic Act 8189 or Voter's Registration Act of 1996 provides that only Filipino citizens aged 18 and above are allowed to vote in the coming elections, the Balitanghali report showed.

One must be a resident of the Philippines no less than a year before the elections, or more than 6 months to vote within a specific city or town.

On the other hand, the following individuals are disqualified from registering as voters:

• Sentenced by final judgement to suffer imprisonment of not less than 1 year
• Proven to have committed acts of rebellion, sedition, or other crimes that threaten national security
• Declared clinically insane or incompetent

These disqualified individuals, however, may still get a chance to recover their right to vote in accordance with the law.

Voter registration

Before the election period, the government designates specific periods for voter registration.

However, registration is now closed for the 2025 elections as the law states that this may only take place at least 120 days before regular elections, or 90 days before special elections.

Currently, there are 68.4 million registered voters out of the 115 million Philippine citizens, not including overseas voters.

Those who didn't vote

According to estimates by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) almost 10.4 million registered voters did not vote in the last 2022 elections.

In fact, Comelec data showed that since 1992— spanning 11 elections over more than 30 years—voter turnouts have yet to exceed 90%.

Historical trends show that voter turnout is usually lower during midterm elections compared to presidential polls, the Balitanghali report added.

Watch the full Balitanghali special report for Eleksyon 2025. — VDV, GMA Integrated News

For more Eleksyon 2025 related content and updates, visit GMA News Online's Eleksyon 2025 microsite.