1Sambayan launches HOPE app to protect votes in May elections
A mobile application that allows voters to guard their votes in the May 9 elections was launched Friday, April 22, and will be used for the first time by opposition coalition 1Sambayan.
Voters and poll watchers will be able to upload photos of election returns and send in issues and concerns through the app dubbed Honest Open Philippine Elections (HOPE) which is developed by Cornerstone Technologies.
Former Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, 1Sambayan lead convenor, said the purpose of the app is to "empower every Filipino voter to protect not only his or her vote, but also the vote of all voters in his or her precinct."
"The voter will not only cast his or her vote, but will also ensure that all the votes cast in his or her precinct are not tampered with by hackers or cheaters," Carpio said.
"In summary, the HOPE app can make every one of the more than 64 million registered voters a guardian of the votes of all voters in his or her precinct. This, I personally believe, is a game changer in Philippine elections," Carpio added.
The 1Sambayan convenor further said the HOPE app takes advantage of a legal requirement in the Omnibus Election Code which requires the third copy of the Election Return, signed by members of the Board of Election Inspectors, to be posted within the premises of the voting precinct so the public can view and take pictures of the Election Return.
The app is also a count app. It was explained during a media forum that once the pictures are taken, the app will automatically transmit the pictures to the HOPE national counting center in Makati City.
The received photos from voters and poll watchers of the coalition "will be digitized automatically and the results will be counted per municipality, city, province and nationally."
The results of the HOPE app quick count will be available to the public in the HOPE and 1Sambayan websites as the results are tallied.
"The 1Sambayan poll watchers will have these results on hand at the canvassing boards, whether at the municipal, city or provincial canvassing boards to ensure that all Certificates of Canvass issued by these boards are correct. Any tampering of the electronic transmission of the Election Results from the precincts to the local or national servers will easily be discovered and exposed," Carpio said.
While the app will be heavily-dependent on mobile data, voters can still relay their concerns through a call as long as there is mobile phone signal, lawyer Ria Villanueva-Dam of Cornerstone Technologies said.
Dam added that mechanisms have been placed to prevent any hacking attempts. She said the app is only available for local download which "in itself will already address the issue of attacks." A cyber security expert was also contracted to conduct vulnerability assessment and penetration tests.
The app can be downloaded by anyone from the Android App Store or from the iOS app store.