Towards a Secured i-Election System in the Philippines: The Development of Hybrid QR Code Technology for Sustainable Election System to Increase Voter Turnout
Creators: name: Analiza V Munoz
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: iElection
Remote Election
Mobile election
Fingerprint election
Election System during pandemic

description: The Commission on Elections (COMELEC), as mandated by the 1987 Philippine Constitution, is the primary government agency responsible for enforcing and administering all guidelines and restrictions, rules and regulations, and policies relating to the management and conduct of regular and special elections. It is a government entity tasked with ensuring democratic, transparent, and fair elections while remaining relatively independent of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the government (Philippines, 2002). The author believes that elections are the lifeblood of a political system, and they are the birth and death of political life. Political life begins when the people elect a candidate to represent or lead them. A candidate's political career ends when the public loses faith in their promises and political platform, regardless of whether they intend to run for re-election to any local or national office, which results in political death. Every Filipino citizen who is eligible to vote has the right to elect the candidate they believe is best qualified to lead the country; this right is guaranteed by the Constitution. However, the country was hit by a novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which disrupted not only human activity and mobility, but also political processes such as elections. This pandemic has ushered in a "new normal" in which all transactions, whether private or public, have been transformed by the adoption of technology. To adapt to this new normal, an organization's present processes and procedures must be revised to reflect the new reality. All government initiatives, including the election process, should undergo rapid digital transformation to ensure voter safety and health while participating in democratic activities. Concerns about health and safety protocols remain the most significant criteria in deciding whether elections should be held during the pandemic. As a result, any election, whether local or national, held during a pandemic must take protective and preventive measures to prevent disease transmission through the electoral process, which is typically the result of hundreds or thousands of people interacting and gathering in small and enclosed areas. The study aims to emphasize that people can use COVID-19 to empower themselves and exercise their right to vote without fear of contracting the virus. They can still vote remotely without leaving their homes. As a result, voters do not need to travel to the polling place to vote. The author also emphasizes the importance of innovating the electoral process by developing a hybrid technology-based voting procedure for the new normal. She conducted a literature review, examined how to use technology to reinvent the election process, and assessed the findings of various election-related studies for policy and implementation recommendations.