Total number of registered voters in city higher at 531,000

CEBU City has 26,747 new voters who will get to vote in the city for the first time next year, records of the local Commission on Elections (Comelec) showed.

From the 504,620 voters who were registered for the barangay elections last October 2010, the number of voters increased to 531,357 as of Sept. 30, 2012.

The application for registration filed last Oct. 1 onwards will be heard by the Election Registration Board on Nov. 16 yet.

In the south district alone, the number of registered voters increased from 267,932 to 290,030 as of last Sept. 30, owing largely to the series of off-site registrations held in different barangays.

Assistant election officer for the south district, Sonny de los Reyes, attributed the increase to the incentives that the Cebu City Government grants to registered voters, particularly to senior citizens and college students.

Assistance

De los Reyes said that since the annual financial assistance of P4,000 was given to the senior citizens in 2010, and later increased to P7,000, many senior citizens registered for the first time or transferred their voter’s registration records to Cebu City.

“Most of the newly registered voters are seniors and youth. When we asked them why they want to vote in the city, they would say their provinces are too far, but we already know what their intention is because even if their registration is not approved yet, they would already ask for certification,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.

Senior citizens and students who want to avail themselves of the City’s scholarship program need to be registered voters of the city and have been able to vote in the last two elections.

If the student is unable to vote yet, their parents need to be registered voters of the city.

Lawyer Marchel Sarno, Cebu City election officer for the north district, urged those who want to vote in the May 13, 2013 elections to register as soon as they can since they have only seven days to do so.

“Comelec will not extend the Oct. 31 deadline because a lot of activities for the preparations for the elections will be affected, including the schedule for the printing of the ballots and training of the teachers,” he said.

The local poll offices are open to accept applications for registration from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Saturday, including holidays.