1. You have to register in order to vote. While this may seem like a no-brainer, there are still some people who seem truly perplexed at the idea.
2. You only have to be registered in order to vote. You DO NOT NEED your Voter’s ID in order to vote. Having said that, however, a Voter’s ID is an important document for other reasons. Some local government units use it as a kind of requirement for enjoying benefits, some banks require it as a valid form of identification, and some people travelling abroad are required to present it.
Check out related information on Voter ID’s here, here, and here.
3. You should register as a new voter only ONCE in your lifetime. There was a time when, if you moved from one place to another, it seemed like it would be much easier to just register as a new voter there and forget about being registered in the place where you came from. But that was a long time ago. Now, when you’ve transferred residences, all you have to do is tell your local COMELEC office: a) that you’re a transferee; b) where you used to reside; and c) that you want to transfer your registration.
If, instead, you try to register as a new voter, the local COMELEC will likely find out that you’re not and advise you to just apply for a transfer. In the unlikely event that you do get registered as a new voter, it will eventually be discovered that you have been previously registered and criminal charges might be filed against you, which could result in a fine or imprisonment, or both.
4. After you’ve completed the process at the COMELEC – from filling up the forms to having your biometrics taken – you’re STILL NOT a registered voter. Your application still has to be submitted to the Election Registration Board for hearing in case someone has challenged your eligibility to vote. If a challenge has been made – in other words, someone has formally claimed that you should not be registered as a voter – then you will get the chance to defend yourself before the ERB. If no challenge has been made, your application gets approved and THEN, you’ll be a registered voter.
5. If you’ve missed two consecutive regular elections, your registration will be DEACTIVATED. You will need to have it REACTIVATED if you want to vote in the next elections. In my experience, this is the most common reason why people don’t find their names on the lists on election day. They forget that they’ve missed two elections and that they’ve been deactivated. Which is the reason why we recommend that – before elections – people VALIDATE their registration records.
It’s not difficult. All you have to do is visit the local COMELEC where you’re registered and tell them that you want to validate. They’ll check the records and tell you if your registration is active. If it is, then, voila! you’re done. If not, then they’ll advice you to file an application for REACTIVATION. All told, you’re likely to spend less than half-an-hour at the COMELEC office – a small trade-off to ensure that you get to vote on election day.