(Chicago, Illinois) Updated on May 10, 2022, 9:50 a.m.
Overseas voting in Barangay Chicago – Philippine Consulate General closed the mail-in voting at 6:00 a.m. Central Standard Time. As of 3:15 p.m., the Consulate received more than a hundred ballots over the cut-off time and therefore were not counted. When the Voting Counting Machine was closed, 39.81% or 9,060 of 22,760 registered voters cast their ballots.
A hiccup in the mail-in ballot system
Consul Ryan C. Pondoc expressed his satisfaction with the smooth running of the election. “We’ve got more training for our election workers,” Consul Pondoc said. “One of the big differences in this election is the preparation we made and the transparency we provided to the community, in general, and to the registered voters, in particular, so we are just smooth sailing in the process,” Pondoc added.
(Video clip contributed by Connie Macatula De Leon)
However, Pondoc also acknowledged one of the hiccups of the mail-in ballot system. He said that there are about 2,000 undelivered/returned mail ballots or more than 10% of registered voters and he attributed this hiccup to the wrong addresses on record. He said, “It is just out of our control to update our record in a timely fashion if a voter moved to a new residence and we were not informed of their new address.”
Voters turnout
Chicago elections usually turn out good participation from voters under the jurisdiction of the Philippine Consulate General of Chicago. The turnout today came just less than 1% of the 40% turnout during the last 2016 presidential elections.
Consul Pondoc said, “Throughout the election period, April 10 to May 9, we’ve improved the process by using our social media presence with our website and Facebook account and engaging the media and community leaders in disseminating election information and advisories.”
A glimpse of the election outcome
The unofficial result for the twelve precincts in Barangay Chicago-PCG showed a parallel outcome with the results in the Philippines. Chicago’s precinct 910700-36 to 47 showed the following two leading candidates: for President: 4,191 for Bongbong Marcos and 3,749 for Leni Robredo; for Vice President: 4,504 for Sarah Duterte and 3,749 for Kiko Pangilinan.
For Senators, the results showed the following numbers for the top twelve candidates: 4,943 for Legarda, 4,573 for Escudero, 4,077 for Tulfo, 3,828 for Zubiri, 4,069 for Padilla, Robin, 3,459 for Bautista, 3,604 for Cayetano, 3,721 for Hontiveros, 3,370 for Teodoro, 3,078 for Diokno, 3,700 for Villar, and 3,339 for Gordon.
Your ballot is your voice
A voter who did not want to be identified said that he mailed his ballot as early as mid-April because he wanted to have his voice heard.
”It is very important. A lot of people will say, ‘Oh, my vote doesn’t count.’ We’ve seen a lot of elections where just a couple of votes made a difference, so it does make a difference,” he said. ###
On March 24, the Philippine Consulate General responded to my email inquiry of the same date, advising that the election materials have not reached the Consulate although registered votes would receive their ballots by mail. True enough, I received my ballot on April 15 as reported by my USPS Informed Delivery notice. By that time, however, I was already away from the city and didn’t return until 7 days later. Does anyone think that I’d drop everything after my trip just to be able to process the election ballot and mail it back to the Consulate? Given other deadlines with increasing intensities, the ballot didn’t stand a chance of landing on my priority list. Just the same I managed to mail the ballot before April ended, hoping that it would reach its destination on time sans hitches. For such an important and critical exercise as this election, the Philippine government could have exerted better planning. Did the Consulate ever think about updating the list of registered voters in the 6 years between presidential elections?
Connie,
Thank you for your comment. Your query about updating the list of registered voters must be a regular function of COMELEC. I will add that since our voting system is now technology-driven then more effort should be given to the modernization of voter registration records, year-round registration, and more accurate voter rolls. Regular communication with the voters should also be established to encourage voters to exercise their right to vote. I also believe that the Philippine Consulate should hear your voice, hence, I encourage you to communicate your thoughts to the Philippine Consulate through their email address: chicagopcg@att.net.
My mother did not receive her ballot and so was not able to vote. She is a registered voter as per the COMELEC precinct finder and the Chicago Consulate’s list of voters. She lives in Oak Lawn, IL in the same address where she received a ballot in the previous election.
Dear Benjamin,
Thank you for sharing the experience of your mother. It is unfortunate that your mother was not able to exercise her right to vote. I suggest that you write the Philippine Consulate at their email address: chicagopcg@att.net about your mother’s experience. Your mother’s case is different from those voters who moved their residence and did not inform the Consulate. The ballots of those voters fell under the list of Undelivered/Returned Ballots. Kindly update me on the progress of your inquiry with the Consulate.
I have also applied for dual citizenship. I have paid the $20.30 fee. After a few weeks of not hearing from the consulate, I did a follow up. No reply. I also followed up with the party accepting payment (PSA Serbilis, if I remember), no reply. I followed up again.. Disappointed, I stop pursuing. Maybe I should have. Clearly there’s some big problems in the Consulate procedures and policies that need to be fixed.
Rico,
I am sorry to hear that you were not able to pursue your dual citizenship and voter registration due to the breakdown of your communication with the Consulate. I suggest that you send your story to the Philippine Consulate email address: chicagopcg@att.net and kindly update me on the progress of your inquiry. I am sure the Consulate will welcome your inquiry as they also want to improve their services. Best regards!