Comelec records low 18% turnout for new internet voting system

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) recorded a low 18.12% turnout for its new internet voting system in the 2025 midterm elections, despite efforts to increase participation among Filipinos abroad.

Out of 1.22 million expected overseas voters, only 221,284 cast their ballots using the internet voting platform.

In contrast, traditional voting methods like in-person voting at embassies and mailing back ballots saw a slightly higher turnout of 32.43% among the approximately 21,000 Filipinos covered by these methods.

The Comelec has not yet released the final official figures for overall overseas voting, but initial calculations suggest a combined turnout of 18.36% for both internet and automated counting machine voting.

This marks the first time the Comelec utilized internet voting, with a significant portion of the 1.24 million registered overseas voters expected to engage with the online system.