VOTERS this coming 2010 elections will not only need to be familiarized with the poll automation process, but they would also be introduced to colored ballots.

In a press conference held Wednesday, Commission on Elections (Comelec) spokesperson James Jimenez said the Comelec en banc has recently approved a colored ballot.

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Jimenez said the ballots would still have an off-white color and the text would still be black.

However, the borders of the 8 1/2 x 22-25-inch ballots will now be colored to avoid over-voting.

"The point of that is, if a voter looks at the ballot, he or she immediately knows what section he or she is in and through that, we will be able to avoid over-voting," said Jimenez.

For example, black will be used for President, green for senator, and blue for partylists.

Over-voting occurs when a voter shades more than one oval for a particular position.

The project specifications of the automation on 2010 National and Local Elections states: "In case of over-voting for a position, the system shall not credit any vote for any candidate for the affected position. The rest of the votes for the unaffected positions shall be counted."

Jimenez also clarified that there will be no additional cost in the printing of the ballots with the new design.

In shading, the Comelec spokesperson said voters should shade at least 50 percent of the oval for their vote to be read by the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines.

"But of course, we would always say it is always good to shade completely," added Jimenez.

For his part, Comelec Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the poll body will be providing markers to voters during election day.

Larrazabal added that there will be no problem with smudges of the markers' ink because the ballots are designed that when the ink penetrates to the other side, no ovals will be marked.

When the new colored ballots are already printed, Comelec will release the 20 machines for their roadshow where the PCOS machines will be tested for public demonstrations.

"We want to release the machines to the regions with the supply of the new colored ballots so that when they (election officers) demo, voters can already see the look of the ballots," said Jimenez.

Party-lists will also have corresponding numbers besides the acronym so that voters can easily locate its name.

On voters' responsibility

Jimenez, meanwhile, reiterated the responsibility of voters during Election Day.

"Let us remember, if the ballot is already handed to you, you have the responsibility for that ballot. It is your responsibility to take care of your ballot. If you want to protect the integrity of your ballot, you can easily do that. Wag kang aanga-anga (Don't be ignorant)," reminded the spokesperson.

The poll body will print 100 percent of the ballots; one ballot is to one voter.

When a voter damages his or her ballot, he or she will not be given another ballot.

"In order for the machine to reject the ballot, it has to be either fake or damaged in a major way to the point that it cannot be used anymore," added Jimenez.

He said the ballots are quite thick and if the ballots get damaged, the voter would have been "really careless."

Comelec will not ban liquids despite the threat of machines being destroyed when a voter attempts to pour any kind of liquid on it.

Jimenez cited that this is where the poll watchers and the Board of Election Inspectors (BEI) come in. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)