House Senior Deputy Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos (Facebook)


Ilocos Norte 1st district Rep. Sandro Marcos wants to make it easier for senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs), the sick, and locally-stranded individuals to cast their votes during public health emergencies or states of calamity. For this purpose, Marcos, the House senior deputy majority leader, filed House Bill (HB) No.8037 to institutionalize postal or mail-in voting for these sectors. "At the height of the pandemic, a number of states in the United States have explored the advantages of postal or mail-in voting, also known as vote-by-mail, to avoid the possible Covid-19 health risks associated with large crowds at polling places," the presidential son wrote in the explanatory note of HB No.8037. "Of serious and special concern is the welfare of the elderly, the handicapped and the sick who are most vulnerable to the contagion," noted Marcos, 29. He went on to cite the advantages of postal voting. "Apart from the avoidance of the health risks associated with Covid, the availability of postal voting also has other advantages. It can reduce staff requirements at polling centers during an election." Marcos said that it can also save a lot of money and man-hours considering the great distances that citizens in some instances would have to spend in going to the places where they are registered voters. "But most importantly perhaps, research has shown that mail-in voting increases voter turnout," he noted. He said that in spite of the objections on the part of some sectors, there has been little or negligible proof that mail-in voting increases the likelihood of fraud. "In any case, researches have shown that the advantages of vote-by-mail far outweigh the disadvantages, real or imagined, of the system," Marcos said. Under the measure, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) shall adopt and implement a postal or mail-in voting system in times of public health emergencies or states of calamity for the benefit of senior citizens, people with disabilities, the sick and locally stranded individuals who are duly registered voters and who, on election day, may not be able to vote due to high risk of infection or physical impossibility.