Breaking news: Reactivate your voting record online


#ASKGOYO

Atty. Gregorio Larrazabal

Let me settle one of the most common questions asked of me once and for all: What happens if I failed to vote in the last two elections?

Answer: You get deactivated as a voter and can no longer vote in the next elections. If you wish to reactivate your voting status, you would need to go to the COMELEC office and go through the same process like a new voter. I know this does not encourage a lot of people to reactivate their voting status especially in this pandemic.

Well, I have good news for those of you who got de-listed and want to reactivate your registration records. Our dynamic COMELEC now allows you to do it online! This applies to those who are applying for:
a. Reactivation of their voting record;
b. Reactivation with correction of entries;
c. Reactivation with transfer within the same locality;
d. Reactivation with transfer within the same locality and correction of entries;
e. Reactivation with updating of senior citizens, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) records

Yes, you can do everything online because your biometrics is already on file with the COMELEC database – unless you haven’t voted since the early 2000’s, or when they tell you that your biometrics in incomplete or corrupted.

Here are the steps to go about it:

  1. Accomplish the voter registration form. This is the CEF-1 form which you can download here:https://comelec.gov.ph/php-tpls-attachments/VoterRegistration/ApplicationsForms/CEF1_Revised_fillable.pdf
    You can accomplish the form either manually or digitally. Please take note that you have to print out the form using Philippine legal size paper (8.5” x 13”)
    When filling up the form, remember:
    CEF-1 Front page: Check the appropriate oval and supply the required information. Affix your signature above your printed name, and write the date below it. Write your active mobile number/s or email address/es at the top right portion of the form, below the words REVISED CEF-1.
    CEF-1 back page:
    Fill out parts 1 and 2, including the oath, thumbprints and signatures.

  2. Scan the documents below and email it to the email address of the Office of the Election Officer in the locality where you are registered (https://comelec.gov.ph/?r=ContactInformation/FieldOffices/CityMunicipalOffices). Subject line must indicate the type of application being filed. The documents to be submitted are:
    a. Accomplished Application form (CEF-1)
    b. Valid ID
    c. Supplementary Data Form (for senior citizens, PWDs and PDLs who want to update their records)

  3. Await confirmation from the Office of the Election Officer (OEO) on what to do next. They will contact you either through the mobile number or the email address that you indicated. I suggest putting your mobile number. It makes for faster communication. When you’re contacted, the COMELEC official will:
    a. Do an online interview. If your biometrics are complete, the OEO will provide a time and date for you to be interviewed online. It will either be via Zoom, MS Teams, Viber, Facebook Messenger, or some other platform.
    b. If your biometrics are incomplete or corrupted, you will be advised to appear personally at the OEO to complete the capturing of biometrics.
    c. The OEO may require you to submit additional supporting documents online to support your application.

The information above was sourced from the Commission on Elections.

Currently, there is no voter registration, satellite registration and online application in areas under ECQ and MECQ. I recommend that the IATF, DOH and COMELEC work on protocols to allow applicants to be processed in areas under MECQ. This will be a big boost in decongesting the lines once an area goes back into GCQ or MGCQ.

Stay Safe. Stay Healthy. Register as voter.
#akosiGoyo