Comelec replaces 311 ACMs due to technical issues

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) replaced at least 311 automated counting machines (ACMs) due to various technical issues reported during the Eleksyon 2025 voting process.

Poll chief George Erwin Garcia noted that ACMs generally performed well this year, with only minor issues affecting a smaller number of machines compared to previous elections where around 2,000 replacements were needed.

Technical glitches caused long queues in several precincts, including an incident where President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had to cast his ballot twice due to malfunctioning equipment.

Comelec has 16,000 contingency machines available and only utilized 311 of them, indicating a significant improvement in machine performance this year.

Election watchdog LENTE believes the ACMs performed well so far but will conduct a full assessment after the random manual audit (RAM).

South Korean firm Miru Systems Inc., which provided the voting equipment, noted that the May 12 elections were a marked improvement over previous Philippine electoral exercises.