The Commission on Elections (Comelec) introduced Dec. 2 to voters in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City the features of the automated counting machine (ACM), which will be used during the national and local elections on May 12 next year.
In each of the 32 local government units (LGUs) in the province, an ACM was deployed for in-person demonstration as part of the Comelec-Negros Island Region’s roadshow.
At the Ayala Malls Capitol Central, Comelec-Bacolod City, led by election officer Revo Sorbito, conducted a demonstration before various sectors, including local candidates.
“This is Comelec’s way of bringing the voting experience closer to our voters here in Bacolod. As you know, we will use a new voting machine in the coming 2025 elections,” Sorbito said.
The ACM has cutting-edge features, such as a 14-inch touchscreen, sensor, scanner, printer, camera, universal serial bus ports, external keypad and a voter’s receipt receptacle.
Outside this highly-urbanized city, roadshows were held in city and municipal halls, government centers, public plazas, covered courts, gymnasiums, and election offices of the 31 other LGUs in Negros Occidental.
For the 2025 midterm elections, Negros Occidental has 2.009 million registered voters.
South Korean joint venture firm Miru Systems was tapped by Comelec as the service provider of the new Full Automation System with Transparency and Audit/Count (FASTrAC) for the 2025 midterm elections.
The ACM, along with the consolidation and canvassing system and the election management system, as well as the online voting and counting system and the secure electronic transmission services, are the main components of the FASTrAC. | PNA
