Bayawan ballots end up in Tanjay in Negros Oriental

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Ballots intended for Bayawan City got mixed up with those for Tanjay City.

TANJAY CITY, Negros Oriental – At least 19 ballots intended for Bayawan City were mistakenly included in the ballot supply for Tanjay City.

A voter had already started shading the ballot—from senatorial candidates down to the mayoral position—when they noticed that the names listed under the mayoral race were candidates from Bayawan City.

This prompted the voting clerks to segregate the ballots, leading to the discovery of the 19 misplaced ones.

READ: Minor issues solved in final testing, sealing of ACMs in Negros Oriental

In an interview with the Inquirer, lawyer Lionel Marco Castillo, regional director of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) – Negros Island Region said while the 19 ballots intended for Bayawan were mistakenly brought to Tanjay, this will not affect the conduct of the elections, and all voters will still be able to cast their votes.

“The voter turnout is currently around 60 to 80 percent, and we have never reached a 100 percent turnout. So there are extra ballots. Everyone can still vote. In any case, if one precinct experiences a shortage, voters may be allowed to cast their votes in other precincts with surplus ballots,” he said.

“We could’ve delivered the ballots as soon as we found out, but upon assessment, there was no need. There are enough ballots in both Tanjay and Bayawan,” he added. / MR