Comelec rejects extension of voting hours

May 10 ------ THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has rejected proposals to extend the voting hours to make up for lost voting time brought about by malfunctioning vote counting machines (VCMs) and defective secured digital (SD) cards.

"It's a case to case basis. At this point nothing justifies extending the voting beyond 7:00 p.m.," said Commissioner George Erwin Garcia. Garcia said that extending the voting hours was not justifiable as the reported glitches in VCMs and SD cards were all minor incidents that have already been addressed and "did not affect the integrity of the elections." However, Garcia assured that all voters within the 30-meter radius at the closing of the voting hour at 7:00 p.m. would still be allowed to vote. He explained that the electoral boards were authorized to make that call "so long as the voters are 30 meters away from the precinct."

For his part, Commissioner Marlon Casquejo, chairman of the Comelec Steering Committee, said that originally, voting period was only until 5:00 p.m. but was extended by two hours or until 7:00 pm. during the 2013 polls. The move, Casquejo said, was in response to the unexpected surge in the number of voters during the first automated elections in 2010. During the 2010 polls, he added that "Comelec did not anticipate that after 5 pm. there were still a lot of voters."

Source: manilatimes.net