Several voters in Lipa City, Batangas reportedly left their official ballots with electoral board members.

In a report by Darlene Cay on 24 Oras, 44 voters entrusted their ballots to a member of the Electoral Board (EB) rather than feeding them directly into the Automated Counting Machine (ACM) in Clustered Precinct 167 at Malitlit Elementary School.

According to DESO Technical Support staff Rosario Hernandez Llanes, voters were given the option after the ACM malfunctioned and began rejecting ballots.

“Ang nangyari po doon, tinanong po muna yung mga bumoto kung... anong magiging plano nila, gawa ang iba po ay nagmamadali... at may mga pasok po sa trabaho. So ang iba po ay willing na iwanan na lang daw po nila at ipagkatiwala na lang sa mga naka-assign na teacher na sila na lang po ang maglalagay sa machine,” Llanes explained. 

No formal documentation was signed; the agreement was purely verbal.

The third member of the EB took responsibility for manually feeding them into the machine once it was fixed.

Meanwhile, similar problems occurred at Godo Bilontok Memorial Integrated School in Clustered Precinct 211. 

Voters there encountered blank receipts from the ACM—a critical issue, as the Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) is meant to confirm that the machine accurately captured the voter's choices.

Ramil Gonzales, chairman of the EB in the precinct, said the problem caused significant delays. 

“Kaya natatagalan po ako, nagkakaroon po ako ng delay dahil kung minsan po ang resibo ng butante ay hindi agad nagpi-print out,” Gonzales said.

"Kapagka nagkataon po, doble rin po ang kailangan kong thermal paper dahil marami po ang natatapon. Ay kung ako naman po 'yung maghihintay na maayos nila—na hindi ko naman po alam kung kailan maayos—tatambak naman po ang aking mga botante," he added.

One voter, Maricel, expressed concern after receiving a blank receipt, but was reassured upon verifying that her printed vote matched her selections.

Another precinct, Clustered Precinct 217, reported a different issue: the ACM kept ejecting the ballots, causing additional queues and confusion.

Despite these setbacks, technical teams managed to resolve the issues, but not without affecting the pace and confidence of the voting process.