Ilocos Norte receives official ballots for May 12 polls

ARRIVAL. Ballots for the May 12 elections arrive at the Ilocos Norte Capitol in Laoag City on Sunday (May 4, 2025). (PNA photo by LEILANIE ADRIANO)

LAOAG CITY — Ilocos Norte received on Sunday the official ballots for the May 12 national and local elections, marking a crucial step in final preparations.

The ballots were delivered to the provincial capitol here and will be distributed promptly to 706 clustered precincts through city and municipal treasurers’ offices.

The information came from lawyer Joel Gines, the election supervisor of the Commission on Elections-Ilocos Norte.

“To speed up the distribution, our city and municipal treasurers are already here to check their allocation, and if these are complete, they can bring it immediately to their respective offices,” he said in a media interview.

With both ballots and automated counting machines (ACMs) now in place, Gines said the province is 100 percent ready for election day.

The ACMs are currently secured by the police at the San Nicolas hub and will be delivered to local governments on May 6, with final testing and sealing scheduled for May 7.

Gines reminded the electorate to avoid over-voting and to bring a list of their candidates, though taking photos of the ballots is prohibited.