Encrypted online votes to deter fraud - Comelec

Metro Manila, Philippines - The names on the verification in the online voting system for overseas Filipinos do not reflect the actual candidates voted for, which are encrypted to guard against fraud, the Commission on Elections said Monday, April 14, dispelling concerns raised by some voters.

The month-long voting period for overseas Filipinos began on Sunday, marking the first time that online voting is carried out in 77 foreign posts. However, some voters have taken to social media to raise concerns, reporting that upon verifying their votes through a QR code, the vote lookup page showed the names of candidates they did not vote for.

Comelec Chairman George Garcia said there is no cause for concern. He explained that voters are given a chance to review their ballots before casting them. However, once the vote is cast, the names of the candidates they voted for are no longer visible.

“Pag pinindot kasi nila yung QR code, ang lalabas po doon hindi na yung pangalan ng mga kandidato na kanilang binoto. Lalabas po diyan ay machine readable codes ng lahat ng kandidato at nandoon din ang kandidatong kanilang binoto,” Garcia said in a chance interview at the Comelec headquarters in Intramuros, Manila.

[Translation: When they scan the QR code, the names of the candidates they voted for will no longer appear. What will show up are machine-readable codes for all the candidates, including the candidate they voted for.]

“Encrypted po ang tawag dun [That’s what you call encrypted],” he added.

He explained that it’s a security feature to prevent election receipts from being used in vote buying or selling, adding that it’s no different from the practice of showing receipts only to voters before depositing them into the ballot box.

In online voting, election receipts will be printed at foreign posts at the end of the voting period on May 12, allowing voters to verify their votes, Garcia said. He added that the random manual audit also serves as a way to assure voters that their votes are counted accurately.

“It is safe, it is verifiable, it is auditable,” Garcia said, adding that election watchdogs and IT experts involved in the source code review would not have greenlit the online voting system otherwise.

There are over 1.2 million registered Filipino voters overseas. Voters from 77 areas will be casting their ballots online - a system that, if successful, the poll body said could be adopted in the Philippines to make voting easier for senior citizens, pregnant women, and persons with disabilities. Meanwhile, voters from 16 posts will continue to use automated counting machines.