Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao general election, 2008
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Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao general elections was held in the ARMM for the regional governor, vice-governor posts and election of members of the ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly on August 11, 2008. The electronic voting used is the first in Philippines election history. The P 500 million COMELEC's "ARMM balloting" is a pilot program for the 2010 national polling.
Pursuant to Republic Act No. 9333 in which elections for the posts of Regional Governor and Regional Vice-Governor and members of the ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly must be held on the second Monday of August for every three years.
ARMM had been used as a testing ground for computerized elections. On September 9, 1996, 42 optical scanners ($ 15,000 each), from Nebraska-based American Information System (AIS) were subject of the Senate Committee experiment led by Miriam Santiago. It found the machines defective. Again in the May 11, 1998 ARMM elections, the same machines were tested and were found defective, resulting to manual counting next day.
On July 22, 2008, however, the COMELEC, using the present machines, conducted a successful “mock poll" and simulated the actual processes and procedure for the August 11 ARMM election.
The Philippines' first-ever Electronic voting (automated) polls had some 1.6 million Filipino-Muslims registered voters, who will elect a governor, vice governor and regional legislators for the ARMM. The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) announced that it will be using 3,300 electronic voting machines in Maguindanao and 156 "automated counting machines" (Electronic voting) in Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Shariff Kabunsuan, and Lanao del Sur. It will using 2 technologies, namely Smartmatic-Sahi Direct Recording Electronic (DRE voting machine), while Optical scan voting system (Optical Mark Readers)(AVANTE International Technology, Inc.) will be used in the 5 other provinces of the ARMM. These include the 17 automated counting machines brought by Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer, head of the COMELEC's team in Basilan, to Lamitan and Isabela cities. 11,000 military personnel and 7,000 policemen or a total of 18,000-strong security force were placed to secure the polls. The historical first "fully" automation elections will not be disrupted by power outage, since each machine has a battery packs reserve power good for 16 hours.
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