Comelec sees mall voting to bring in more voters

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday said it sees that mall voting will bring in more people to vote during the 2025 midterm elections.

Comelec earlier said that it is looking to implement nationwide mall voting during the next year's polls, so that people can have options to avoid the hot weather.

"Very convenient especially for the vulnerable sectors, very safe, and very comfortable for them," Comelec-National Capital Region (NCR) Assistant Regional Director Atty. Jovencio Balinquit said during a televised briefing.

Balinquit added that it would also be convenient for poll workers.

In October, the poll body pilot tested mall voting in 12 malls, eight of which were in the NCR.

The number of malls where voters can cast their votes next year will be increased to over 50, according to Balinquit.

"Sa 2025, this will be institutionalized. From 12, magiging 54 or 57 malls ang magpa-participate. Baka mayroon pang madagdag doon (From 12, an additional of 54 or 57 malls will be participating. Maybe we can still add more malls)," Balinquit said.

Mall voting was initially piloted during the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections.

Meanwhile, the poll body is also looking to implement early voting hours for senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and pregnant women.

"This is part of our effort for a convenient voting for the part of the voters," Balinquit said.

"Instead of them voting with the rest of the Filipinos, mauuna sila (They will go first)," he added.

Early-hour voting starts at 5:00 a.m. and ends at 7:00 a.m.

As of 31 October, the Comelec has tallied a total of 68,618,667 registered voters for the 2025 national, local, and Bangsamoro parliamentary elections.

Calabarzon logged the most number of registered voters for the upcoming polls, with a total of 9,765,170 voters.

This was followed by Central Luzon with 7,712,535 voters.