Newly qualified voters have 26 more days left to register so they can vote in the May 2010 polls. Commission on Elections (COMELEC) Supervisor Eliseo Labaria said that no extension of said deadline has been issued by central offices in Manila. Labaria expects more turnout of new voters considering that the level of awareness for the 2010 polls remains high since it is both a presidential and local election. He urged those who will turn 18 years of age to exercise their right of suffrage. Meanwhile, the filing of certificate of candidacies, for both local and national candidates will start on Nov. 20. The 10-day registration period ends on Nov.30. This will be the first time that the final list of voters will be known early, even five months before Election Day. This is due to the fact that the names will still be encoded in the official ballots which will be fed to the computers on Election Day. If the poll automation gets implemented, there will be shading of candidate slots, instead of writing the candidates’ names on the ballot. The campaign period for national candidates, presidential, vice presidential and senatorial bets will start on Feb 9. Local candidates can start campaigning on March 26. Election ban officially starts on January 10.
