Auditing the machine count.

Byline: Mahar Mangahas

HOW CAN THE GENERAL PUBLIC GAUGE HOW well (or how poorly) the Automated Election System (AES) actually works when it operates nationally for the first time this year? Well, the law authorizing the use of the AES by the Commission on Elections (RA 8436 of 1997, as amended by RA 9369 in 2007) has the following section, which should come into play:

SEC 29. Random Manual Audit.Where the AES is used, there shall be a random manual audit in one precinct per congressional district randomly chosen by the Commission in each province and city. Any difference between the automated and manual count will result in the determination of root cause and initiate a manual count for those precincts affected by the computer or procedural error. [Underscoring mine.]

On Nov. 10, 2009 the Comelec approved the creation of a Technical …