JUST four days before the 2019 midterm elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) Davao Region reminded the electorate to refrain from taking pictures or selfies of their accomplished ballots.
“Alam niyo naman sagrado yong boto so not allowed, it’s prohibited na you take pictures of your vote or mag se-selfie after voting kasi it could be an evidence for vote-buying and we are against vote-buying or vote-selling,” Comelec- Davao Region spokesperson Lawyer Krisna Samantha Caballero said on Thursday, May 9.
Although bringing of cellphones are allowed inside, but using it while voting is prohibited and constitutes an election offense because it violates the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot. Once the ballot has been filled out, it must be submitted right after to an electoral board to be fed to the vote counting machine. It is also prohibited to bring out the voting receipts from the polling precincts.
While it’s okay to bring sample ballot inside to serve as a guide in casting votes, but handing out of sample ballots outside the polling centers on Election Day is no longer allowed. It will be considered as a form of campaign during Election Day which is a violation of election laws.
Caballero said they are expecting at least 1,000 voters to cast their votes at every clustered precinct in the city.
Meanwhile, he reminded the uniformed personnel inside the polling centers the “50-meter distance from polling places” policy as part of their limitations that they must observe.
On Monday, May 13, voting will begin from 6 a.m. and will end at 6 p.m.