voting and counting of votes

Module 4-A, ELECTION LAWS

Atty. GALLANT D. SORIANO, MNSA

G. board of election inspectors (BEI)
board of election inspectors (BEI)
COMPOSITION a. a Chairman and a poll clerk - who must be public school teachers;

(Sec. 164, B.P. 881) b. two members - each representing the two accredited political parties.

a. good moral character and irreproachable reputation;

b. registered voter of the City or municipality;

QUALIFICATIONS c. never been convicted of any election offense or of any other crime punishable by
(Sec. 166, B.P. 881)
more than 6 months imprisonment;

d. able to speak and write English or the local dialect.

a. must not be related within 4th civil degree by consanguinity or affinity to any
DISQUALIFICATION member of the BEI or to any candidate to be voted for in the polling place;

(Sec. 167, B.P. 881)

b. must not engage in any partisan political activity.

a. conduct the voting and counting of votes in the polling place;

b. act as deputies of Comelec in supervision and control of polling place;

POWERS c. maintain order within the polling place;

(Sec. 168, B.P. 881)

d. perform such other functions as prescribed by the Code or by the rules of the
Comelec.
H. casting and counting of votes
1. official ballot
a. before delivering official ballot to the voter; chairman of BEI shall, in the
AUTHENTICATION presence of the voter, affix his signature at the back thereof.

OF BALLOT
(Sec. 24, R.A. 7166) b. failure to authenticate shall be noted in minutes of BEI and shall constitute an
election offense.

a. ballot is not deemed spurious;

FAILURE TO
AUTHENTICATE b. ballot is valid.

Libanan vs. HRET, G.R. No. 129783. Dec. 22, 1997 - while Sec. 24 of R.A. 7166
provides that failure to authenticate the ballot shall constitute an election offense,
there is nothing in the said law which provides that ballots not so authenticated
shall be considered invalid. 

JURISPRUDENCE
Punzalan vs. Comelec, G.R. No. 126669.  Apr. 27, 1998 - failure of the BEI 
chairman or any of the members of the board to comply with their mandated
administrative responsibility, i.e., signing, authenticating and thumb-marking of
ballots, should not penalize the voter with disenfranchisement, thereby frustrating
the will of the people.
various provisions
BALLOT BOX Where applicable, there shall be in each precinct on election day a ballot
(Sec. 17, R.A. 8436, as box with such safety features that the Commission may prescribe and of
amended by R.A. 9369) such size as to accommodate the official ballots."

PROCEDURE The Commission shall prescribe the manner and procedure of voting,
IN VOTING which can be easily understood and followed by the voters, taking into
(Sec. 18, R.A. 8436, as
amended by R.A. 9369)
consideration, among other things, the secrecy of the voting."

CLOSING The Commission shall prescribe the time, manner and procedure of closing
OF POLLS the polls and the steps for the correct reporting of votes cast and the
(Sec. 19, R.A. 8436, as
amended by R.A. 9369)
proper conduct of counting for areas covered by the AES."

COUNTING The Commission shall prescribe the manner and procedure of counting the
PROCEDURE votes under the automated system: Provided, that apart from the
(Sec. 21, R.A. 8436, as electronically stored result, thirty (30) copies of the election return are
amended by R.A. 9369) printed."
I. illegal voter
illegal voter
a. any voter or watcher;

CHALLENGE OF b. may challenge any person offering to vote;

ILLEGAL VOTER
(Sec. 199, B.P. 881)
c. for not being registered, for using the name of another; or for
suffering from existing disqualification.

a. challenged person has received or expects to receive, has paid,

offered or promised to pay, has contributed, offered or promised to
contribute money or anything of value as consideration for his vote
or for the vote of another;

OTHER GROUNDS
(Sec. 200, B.P. 881)
b. that he has made or received a promise to influence the giving or
withholding of any such vote or that he has made a bet or is
interested directly or indirectly in a bet which depends upon the
result of the election.
illegal voter
a. challenged person shall take prescribed oath before BEI that he has
not committed any of the acts alleged in the challenge.

PROCEDURE b. Upon the taking of such oath, the challenge shall be dismissed and
(Sec. 200, B.P. 881)
the challenged voter shall be allowed to vote, but in case of his
refusal to take such oath, the challenge shall be sustained and he
shall not be allowed to vote.

a. poll clerk shall keep a prescribed record of challenges and oaths

taken in connection therewith and the resolution of the BEI in each
case; and,

RECORD OF
CHALLENGES b. upon the termination of the voting, shall certify that it contains all the
AND OATHS challenges made.

(Sec. 202, B.P. 881)

c. The original of this record shall be attached to the original copy of

the minutes of the voting.
J. voting for illiterate or disabled voter
illiterate or disabled voter
a. by his relative by affinity or consanguinity within the 4th civil degree; or
if he has none:

ILLITERATE OR
DISABLED VOTER b. by any person of his confidence who belongs to the same household;
CAN BE ASSISTED or

(Sec. 196, B.P. 881)

c. by any member of the BEI.

a. that he is an illiterate voter; must in be indicated in his registration

REQUISITES
record.

a. assistor cannot assist more than three times, except member of the
BEI;

LIMITATIONS
b. assistor must under oath bind himself to fill out the ballots strictly in
accordance with the instruction of the voter and not reveal the contents
of the ballot prepared by him.
K. random manual audit
random manual audit - Sec. 29, R.A. 8436, as amended by R.A. 9369

a. Where the AES is used, there shall be a random

manual audit in one precinct per congressional district
randomly chosen by the Commission in each
province and city.

b. Any difference between the automated and manual

count will result in the determination of root cause
and initiate a manual count for those precincts
affected by the computer or procedural error."
L. canvass and proclamation
composition of board of canvassers - Pres. and Vice-Pres.

a. The Senate and the House of Representatives in joint public

session shall compose the national board of canvassers for
president and vice-president.

b. The certificate of canvass for president and vice-president duly

certified by the board of canvassers of each province or city,
shall be electronically transmitted to the Congress, directed to
NBC FOR PRES. the president of the Senate.

AND VICE-PRES.
(Sec. 28, R.A. 8436,
c. Upon receipt of the certificates of canvass, the President of the
as amended by R.A. 9369)
Senate shall, not later than thirty (30) days after the day of the
election, open all the certificates in the presence of the Senate
and the House of representatives in joint public session and the
Congress upon determination of the authenticity and the due
execution thereof in the manner provided by law, canvass all the
results for president and vice-president and thereafter, proclaim
the winning candidates."
composition of board of canvassers - Senators and Party-List Reps.

a. T h e c h a i r m a n a n d m e m b e r s o f t h e
Commission on Election sitting en banc, shall
compose the national board of canvassers for
senators and party-list representatives.

NBC FOR
SENATORS and b. It shall canvass the results by consolidating the
PARTY-LIST REPS. c e r t i fi c a t e s o f c a n v a s s e l e c t ro n i c a l l y
(Sec. 27, R.A. 8436,

as amended by R.A. 9369) transmitted.

c. Thereafter, the national board shall proclaim

the winning candidates for senators and party-
list representatives."
composition of board of canvassers - Provincial

the provincial board of canvassers shall be

composed of the:

a. provincial election supervisor or a senior lawyer in

the regional office of the Commission, as chairman,

PROVINCIAL
BOARD OF b. provincial fiscal, as vice-chairman, and the

CANVASSERS
(Sec. 221, B.P. 881)
c. provincial superintendent of schools, and one
representative from each of the ruling party and the
dominant opposition political party in the
constituency concerned entitled to be represented,
as members.
composition of board of canvassers - City

the city board of canvassers shall be composed of

the:

a. city election registrar or a lawyer of the Commission,

as chairman,

CITY BOARD
OF CANVASSERS b. city fiscal and the

(Sec. 221, B.P. 881)

c. city superintendent of schools, and

d. one representative from each of the ruling party and

the dominant opposition political party entitled to be
represented, as members.
composition of board of canvassers - Municipal

the municipal board of canvassers shall be

composed of the:

a. election registrar or a representative of the

Commission, as chairman,

MUNICIPAL BOARD b. municipal treasurer, and the

OF CANVASSERS
(Sec. 221, B.P. 881)
c. district supervisor or in his absence any public
school principal in the municipality and

d. one representative from each of the ruling party and

the dominant opposition political party entitled to be
represented, as members.
M. authentication of electronically
transmitted election results
authentication of electronically transmitted election results

a. The manner of determining the authenticity and due

execution of the certificates shall conform with the
provisions of Republic Act No. 7166 (Synchronized
Elections) as may be supplement or modified by the
provision of this Act, where applicable,

b. by appropriate authentication and certification procedures

for electronic signatures as provided in Republic Act No.
8792 (E-Commerce Act) as well as the rules promulgated
by the Supreme Court pursuant thereto."
END