THE COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) repeatedly assured the general public that the 2022 automated national and local elections would push through even if the threat of COVID-19 persists next year. The poll body had set the filing of Certificates of Candidacy from October 1 to 8, 2021. Voters’ registration is ongoing and will end on September 30, 2021.
One of the plunging effects of the COVID-19 and its variants has been its impact on elections worldwide. Some countries have pushed ahead with elections while others were postponed citing the impact of the deadly disease given the similar threats the pandemic poses for the health and safety of voters and election officials alike.
Health and safety concerns remain a crucial factor in deciding whether or not elections should be conducted during the pandemic. This pandemic has implications on the administration of elections. Meanwhile, the Philippines’ COVID-19 cases continue to rise, despite having one of the longest and harshest lockdowns in the world. Consequently, the Comelec must identify and assess the feasibility of implementing any new requirements without compromising the integrity or legitimacy of an election. The forthcoming exercise is seen as a super spreader event, therefore, must be conducted with preventive and mitigating measures to avoid escalating the cases which typically involves the interaction of hundreds or thousands of voters in confined clustered precincts.
While vaccinations are being rolled out, many registered voters are still exposed and have to live with the virus unprotected hence there will be restrictions on movement and assembly, there are health-related risks for voters and elected officials alike. As such, there are several challenges for the integrity of elections to be managed under COVID-19, by virtue of the proper social distancing requirements, election campaigns cannot be conducted as they used to be. It is encouraged that meetings should be conducted online, but if online meetings are impossible, we have to assign marshals to enforce physical distancing, body temperature checks, ventilation, sanitization, and mask/shield wearing that had to be ascertained by event organizers. House to house campaigns in barangays or villages should be banned but if allowed there should be strict health and safety protocols, such as no handshaking, and only a limited number of candidates and crowd should be allowed in proclamation and kick off rallies, stage meetings or caucuses, and “meeting (miting) de avance” at any given time.
There will be limitations on voter access. The fear of spreading the disease through the voting process naturally inhibits the opportunity for COVID-19 symptomatic and asymptomatic patients to cast their votes. The healthy but vulnerable voters — such as those aged 65 and above are also at great risk. Cognizant to this fact, the Comelec will utilize bigger polling stations with guards and temperature scanners in the entrance—from classrooms to covered courts, gyms, social halls or auditoria. Only five (5) voters will be allowed inside a polling place at a time and also there will certainly be restrictions on the number of watchers.
There have been suggestions to extend voting hours. Some groups want polling precincts to be opened 12 hours so that voters and election officers can adhere to health protocols. However, teachers who will be running the elections will be up 3:00 a.m. then start at 6:00 a.m. and they will end at 6:00 p.m. They will have a really long day. There are also suggestions to implement a schedule based on alphabetical order of voters’ last names but what if there are voters who arrive before or after their schedule? Should they be barred from voting? The Comelec is also studying how Filipinos stricken with COVID-19 could cast their votes on election day. Having a disease is not a disqualification for people to vote. But this is controversial because you will be putting teachers at risk. This is something that needs to be settled by the poll body. The Commission is also studying if additional measures should be implemented for elderly voters who may not be allowed to leave their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Comelec may reserve the first voting hours (7:00 – 11:00 a.m.) for the elderly and designate a quarantine area in case a symptomatic or asymptomatic voter is detected upon entry to a polling precinct, whereby they could be isolated by health officials immediately. Moreover, overseas voters may not be able to vote due to restrictions on movement imposed by their host countries given the severity of the current outbreak here. This limitation must be considered by consular offices by providing hybrid voting mechanisms, such as postal and online votings.
There will be risks for the legitimacy of the outcome of the elections. The legitimacy of elections is most often measured through the level of voter turnout in a given election. This is the number of voters out of the total number of registered voters that have come out to cast their votes. The lower the turnout, the less legitimate the results, particularly if the turnout is less than 50 percent. Based on our previous presidential elections, the level of voter turn-out is high but for the first time in our electoral process this will be one of the possible scenarios in the time of a pandemic, given the hesitancy of voters in safely leaving their homes to go to polling precincts.
There will be added financial and administrative costs. Equipment such as temperature scanners, gloves, PPEs, face masks and shields, hand sanitizers, and disinfectants will be included in the lists of electoral materials. However, coupled with the required physical distancing and limiting the capacity of the voting precincts this will lead to long queues from morning to evening prolonging the use of electricity, additional costs for food and water to election inspectors, watchers, canvassers, and law enforcers. Consequently, voting and canvassing hours has to be extended. In fact, some lawmakers have suggested postponing the elections to save money for fighting the pandemic and to cushion the county for a possible recession.
In conclusion, COVID-19 elections could be messy. It may affect the electoral participation, cleanliness of the elections, the participation of certain voters, the way political parties operate in the campaign period and the legitimacy of the result through low voter turnout and emergency situations. The Comelec has to adapt to the “new normal” of conducting elections. It is possible to hold elections, but there are compromises to reach and high costs to pay in the preservation of our democratic processes.