THE COMMISSION on Elections clarified on Wednesday that there was no overvoting in a ballot that was flagged during the final testing and sealing (FTS) of the automated counting machine (ACM) on Tuesday, May 6, at the Davao City National High School.
This, after a statement circulated online regarding the reported ACM overvote of one of the FTS ballots.
“Makikita sa FTS ballot na ito na twelve lamang ang may tamang pag-shade ng bilog at ito lamang ang bibilangin ng ACM,” Comelec said.
Comelec said there was no overvoting as the #32 and #66 were not properly shaded, but rather, the circle was enclosed in a box.
“Ito ay maling paraang ng pag-shade at dahil dito ay hindi bibilangin ang boto para sa kandidato #32 at #66,” it added.
Comelec stressed that under Section 36 (e) of Resolution No. 11076, writing distinguishing marks aside from correctly shading the circles in the ballot is prohibited.
Distinguishing marks can include drawing of a star icon, or a different shape, or enclosing the circle in a square, as it will not be read as a vote.
