EDITORIAL - Preventing vote buying

Reversing the Commission on Elections again, the Supreme Court yesterday granted a petition to issue receipts for the automated voting. The unanimous SC vote ordered the Comelec to enable the voter verified paper audit trail or VVPAT feature of the vote counting machines.

The decision has raised concern that vote-buying politicians will again have a way of verifying if they are getting what they paid for through receipts. The voting machines eliminated a system widely used when the nation still had manual elections, in which individuals could show proof that they voted for a particular candidate. In rejecting the VVPAT, the Comelec also said its use would add seven hours to the voting period.

On the other hand, proponents of VVPAT led by Richard Gordon, who authored the law that provided for poll automation when he was a senator, argue that voters need proof that their choices are accurately recorded by the machines. The receipts can also be used to countercheck voting results in case of electoral protests.

The SC, in its unanimous decision, suggested that to discourage the use of VVPAT for vote buying, the receipts should be deposited in a separate ballot box within the voting precinct.

Both the Comelec and SC are concerned about the integrity of the vote. The SC has the final word, however, and a unanimous decision is unlikely to be overturned. The Comelec has no choice but to bow to the SC ruling. The poll body must now work double time to reconfigure the voting machines, and install safeguards to prevent the receipts from being used to undermine the integrity of the elections.