Overseas Voting Kicks Into High Gear in Chicago

Consul General Gina A. Jamoralin (left) administering the oath of officers and staff of the Philippine Consulate General deputized by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) for the Overseas Voting. (Chicago PCG photo)

CHICAGO 30 April 2019 — Filipino overseas voters once more get to make their voices heard and help strengthen democracy in the Philippines as the Overseas Absentee Voting period for the 2019 Senatorial and Party List Elections started on 13 April 2019.

The Philippine Consulate General in Chicago has since started receiving mailed ballot envelopes from the over 20,000 registered voters residing in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Under the Postal Voting mode being implemented by the Consulate General, mailing packets containing the official ballot, return envelope, instructions to voters and paper seal have been sent out to the registered voters through the United States Postal Service.

Voters have the option of either mailing back their accomplished ballots or personally delivering them to the Consulate General.

After verification, ballots are then batch-fed into Vote Counting Machines by the Special Board of Election Inspectors every Monday and Thursday.

Calls for participation have been echoed by Consulate General officials, led by Consul General to Chicago Gina A. Jamoralin, who attended a consular outreach service in St. Louis, Missouri on the first day of voting.

In other similar community events, the Consulate General has consistently campaigned for registered Overseas Voters to play an active role in this high-stakes electoral exercise.

Overseas Voters who may have moved and changed address since the last election in 2016 and whose packets were returned to sender still have a chance to vote before the deadline on May 13 at 5:00 a.m. (6:00 p.m. Philippine Standard Time). A list of names has been posted on the Consulate General’s website with instructions on how they can claim or receive their ballots.

With less than three weeks to go, the Consulate General intensifies its efforts to increase the Filipino community’s awareness of the importance of the current overseas voting period that allows them to choose 12 senators and one party-list representative. END

Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group (SBRCG) Chair Leila V. Imperial, of the receives a ballot envelope from a voter on 13 April 2019, the first day of the voting period. (Chicago PCG photo)

Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI) Chairman Romulo Victor Israel and Poll Clerk Ceasar Balarbar turning on the Vote Counting Machine (VCM) to begin the batch feeding of valid ballots received from April 8 to 14. (Chicago PCG photo)

Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEI) Poll Clerk Alvar Rosales checking the Voter Verification Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) or the so-called voter’s receipt after feeding a ballot into the VCM on the first day of ballot-feeding on April 15. (Chicago PCG photo)

For more information, visit www.chicagopcg.dfa.gov.ph, www.chicagopcg.com or https://www.facebook.com/PHinChicago/.