The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has stepped up its education campaign on the country’s first fully automated polls aimed at making the masses familiar with the revised voting process using new ballots in which their votes contained therein will be counted by the Precinct Count Open Scan (PCOS) machines.

The stepped up campaign was highlighted by the launching of two new websites dubbed “I.B.A. na Ngayon” and “Bagong Botante” that may be accessed at ibanangayon.ph and www.bagongbotante.ph, respectively.

“I.B.A. na Ngayon” will be the Comelec’s primary repository of information on the automated polls, according to its spokesman James Jimenez.

Jimenez said the site contains a comprehensive assortment of educational materials for voters including videos, detailed walkthroughs of the voting process, slideshows, a blog and an FAQ. Helpful sections include guides on the proper use of modern ballot as well as literature on the PCOS counting machines, he added.

"Bagong Botante,” on the other hand, is an online community particularly useful for new voters. Visitors to the website are invited to connect with each other using popular social networking sites such as Facebook, Plurk and Twitter, and to share information about automated elections. The site came in particularly handy during the recently completed registration period, with voter registration forms available for download, as well as manuals in Tagalog and English on the automated polls to keep spreading information for the Comelec’s education desk.

“Voter education is critical for the success of the automated elections,” Jimenez said. “Advanced technology means nothing if people don’t know how to use it.  The machines are merely there to count. It is the Filipino people who will still cast votes and so they must learn how the new system works.”

He said as Bagong Botante, registered voters are encouraged to learn about how automated election works, teach each other about automated elections system and encourage others to keep spreading information about automated elections.

The voter education campaign was designed to take full advantage of online media as it directly engages website visitors in the education campaign, inviting social network users to post links to the website and other online campaign materials on their profiles, it was pointed out.

Demographic studies have revealed that a large chunk of the electorate use the Internet, with 28 percent of the country’s urban population having ready internet access according to a recent study by AC Nielsen, while 48 percent of the 40 million users are registered voters.

Jimenez said he is positive that as more people learn about automated elections, more will realize how the new system helps solve many of the problems that have plagued previous political exercises.

“There are three important things that voters can do on Election Day. Make a list of who they want to vote for, shade the ovals on the ballot properly, and refrain from over-voting,” Jimenez said. “Anyone who wants to learn about the automated poll system to be used in the 2010 national election will find a wealth of useful information on both sides.”