Want to know how automated voting machines work? Then visit the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) main office in Intramuros, Manila to learn more.

The COMELEC announced today that starting July 7, 2008, voters from the National Capital Region may participate in the poll body’s series of election automation demonstrations where they can have a hands-on experience and appraise for themselves the technologies that will be used in the 11 August 2008 automated elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The poll automation demos for the public will run in two sessions daily at the COMELEC Automated Electoral System (AES) Information Office, ground floor Palacio del Gobernador Bldg. Intramuros, Manila; at 11:00 AM – 12:00 Nn and 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM.

However, due to the limited seats available, the COMELEC advises the public to schedule their visits. Interested parties may call telephone numbers 525-9294 or 525-9301. They may also visit http://comelec.wordpress.com.

On the said demonstrations, COMELEC educators and representatives from technology suppliers, Smartmatic-SAHI and Avante International, will conduct actual trainings on the usage of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and automated counting machines (ACMs). Video presentations and tutorials will also be shown.

Two technologies will be implemented in the automated ARMM elections; they are the Direct Recording Electronic (DRE) system and the Optical Mark Reader (OMR) system.

The DRE system uses touch-screen or touch-pad technology and is fully automated from voting to counting and final transmission of results to the canvassing centers at the provincial and regional levels. OMR technology, on the other hand, requires voters to fill out a paper ballot which is scanned by specially designed machines.

Smartmatic-SAHI will implement the DRE system in Maguindanao while Avante International will provide OMR technology for the other five ARMM provinces, namely, Lanao del Sur, Shariff Kabunsuan, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. ###