Over 4M Filipinos apply for voter registration

FILE: COMELEC REMINDS CANDIDATES TO SUBMIT SOCE. Commission on Elections (Comelec) Spokesperson James Jimenez reminds all candidates in the recently concluded mid-term polls to submit their Statement of Contributions and Expenditures (SOCEs), during the press briefing held at the National Board of Canvassers (NBOC) headquarters, Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City on Wednesday (May 15, 2019). Under the Omnibus Rules on Campaign Finance, failure to submit SOCEs within six months from proclamation will stop winning candidates from assuming the duties of the post he/she had won. (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)

MANILA — More than four million Filipinos have registered as regular and youth voters during the two-month voter registration by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) nationwide.

The latest data from the Election and Barangay Affairs Department (EBAD) show that it received a total of 4,097,003 applications from Aug. 1, 2019 to Sept. 30, 2019.

Applications from regular registrants or those aged 18 years and above reached 3,082,396.

On the other hand, applications from those 15 to 17 years of age who are qualified to vote for Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) positions totaled 1,014,607.

The majority of the registrants are female totaling 2,150,259 while the number male is only 1,946,744.

“A turnout this high far exceeds the projected number of newly registered voters for the year 2020. This is true for the 16 regions in the country,” Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said in a statement.

“For the regular applicants, the nationwide average is 152 percent more than what was statistically expected,” he added.

Based on statistics provided by the Election Records and Statistics Department (ERSD), the projected total number of newly registered voters for those who are 18 years old and above is 2,030,630.

Meanwhile, the estimated number of new registrants aged 15 to 17 years is 1,229,859 as against the 1,014,607-total number of applications processed.

As mandated by law, the system of continuing registration will resume if Congress decides to defer the May 2020 Barangay and SK Elections (BSKE).

Jimenez noted that in case the next year’s polls will be postponed, they will be holding a new period of voter registration.

“Once a bill postponing the polls is signed into law by the President, we will announce a new period of voter registration,” he added.

The applications accepted during the registration period are for registration, transfer, change/corrections of entries, reactivation, inclusion, and reinstatement of names in the list of voters.