Voter finds pre-shaded ballot in Camarines Sur

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Camarines Sur map. INQUIRER FILES

CALABANGA, Camarines Sur — A voter in this town raised alarm on Monday after discovering that her ballot had already been pre-shaded for certain candidates during the early hours of voting.

Maria Theresa Bonot, a resident of Barangay Ratay, said she noticed markings for a gubernatorial candidate, a senatorial candidate, and several barangay officials already filled in when she received her ballot at Precinct 131A of Ratay Elementary School.

In a Facebook post, Bonot expressed concern that the issue might not be isolated to Calabanga.

“Voters, please read and see your ballot before signing in. Our votes are our sovereign rights,” she wrote. “Protect ourselves from scrupulous Comelec officials who will ruin our sovereign rights.”

Bonot said she immediately alerted the election staff and fellow voters at the precinct.

“I called the attention of the staff. Everybody was alerted. I told them I would not continue shading and asked them to replace the ballot,” she said.

She added that the staff acknowledged the issue and issued her a new ballot.

“There’s no guarantee that it was only my ballot. We were just in the second batch of voters,” she said.

Bonot said she was too shaken to take a photo of the ballot, but stressed the importance of vigilance during the voting process. Grace Lucila Inquirer Intern

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