PPCRV suggests stamping pens to avoid ballot smudges in next polls

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) on Monday proposed using stamping pens when casting votes to avoid smudges on ballots in the next Philippine elections.

PPCRV spokesperson Ana Singson floated the idea during a press briefing, as the church-based watchdog logged 271 ballot-related incidents during the last May polls.

Based on its initial incident report, of these incidents, 114 are rejected ballots due to ink smudges and wet ink stains from the marker, causing dirty scanners and multiple machine stoppages.

“Perhaps we should review the quality control, what qualities were used, and what tests were used,” Singson said.

“Instead of using a marker, use a stamping pen. That stamp would be the exact same size as the oval, fully customized, so wala nang problema about the threshold,” she suggested.

PPCRV earlier recommended bringing back the 25% shading threshold in the next polls, as it received reports of mismatches between the actual votes and the receipts from the automated counting machines (ACM).

Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairperson George Garcia said the agency is looking into the smudging issue, along with other election-related concerns.

He noted that the markers used for this year’s election are water-based, unlike in the previous years, where they were oil-based.

“Ang problema pag oil-based (marker) dapat makapal ang papel. Pag water-based naman, hindi siya nagba-blot sa likod pero hindi agad madali matuyo,” Garcia said in an ambush interview.

(The problem is that oil-based markers should be used on a thicker paper. If the marker is water-based, it cannot blot, but it’s longer to dry.)

He added Comelec is also looking into using 160-grams-per-square-meter-thick ballot papers once again for the next election, noting that 90 gsm paper was used in this year’s polls.

One of the adjustments Comelec can implement, Garcia said, is getting the voters' thumbprints after they cast their votes to avoid smudges on the ballots. 

“Meron din smudges coming from the pen pero mas madami talagang smudge (there are also smudges coming from the pen, but there really are more smudges) created by the voters themselves because of their fingerprint,” Garcia said. 

During elections, a voter's thumbprint must be placed on the voter's list before voting to ensure their identity.

To garner more prospective suppliers for the 2028 elections, Garcia announced the Comelec will conduct a vendors fair in February 2026. —RF, GMA Integrated News