May 13 is Election Day. Whether you’re voting or not, you have many ways to participate in the process and make it move towards democracy that’s real and substantive.

As netizens, we could use our social media capital to do great things and to be good citizens.

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Before anything else, make sure to charge all your devices like phones, tablets, netbooks, cameras and mobile chargers. Also consider charging and bringing rechargeable lamps and flashlights.

We in #juanvote are taking action to uphold this general rule: All eligible voters have a right to vote freely and to have those votes counted quickly and accurately to determine the winners in the electoral contests. We ask everyone to report any incident that violates this rule.

As to what exactly should be reported, we are reissuing this Netizens’ Election Day Memo to inform interested netizens what we should watch out for and report. Remember, tweet your reports using the hashtag #juanvote.

Voting Issues

Delays in opening of precincts
Preventing any registered voter to cast a vote
Missing names of registered voters in List of Voters
Receiving a ballot that has already been pre-marked or with shading
Any person checking out how a voter is casting a vote (violation of privacy and secrecy)
Precinct runs out of ballots (If precinct runs out of ballots, a voter should be allowed to cast votes in next precinct)
Precinct runs out of markers
Precinct has wrong ballot
Suspension of voting for whatever purpose
Non-use or unavailability of indelible ink to mark voters who have already voted
Premature closing of precincts

Automated Election System Issues

No PCOS machine in precinct
PCOS machine malfunctions
PCOS machine rejects ballots
CF card (memory card) malfunctions
Brownouts at any time on Election Day at the precincts
Unauthorized personnel (non-COMELEC) accessing the PCOS machine
Stealing or destruction of the PCOS machine

Election Violence

Unauthorized presence of armed military or police personnel
Unauthorized presence of unidentifiable armed persons (private armies, militias)
Fighting in precincts, polling centers and canvassing centers
Any physical attack or threat of physical attack against any teacher or official authorized by the COMELEC, or against any voter, any group of voters, any candidate, or supporters of any candidate or party

COMELEC: Prohibited acts on Election Day

Campaigning, in all its forms
Selling, furnishing, offering, buying, serving or taking intoxicating liquor
Giving, accepting free transportation, food, drinks and things of value
Soliciting votes or undertaking any propaganda for or against any candidate or any political party within the polling place or within thirty (30) meters thereof
Voting more than once or in substitution of another
Holding of fairs, cockfights, boxing, horse races or other any other similar sports
Opening of booths or stalls for the sale, etc., of merchandise, or refreshments within a radius of thirty meters from the polling place

The #juanvote network, led by BlogWatch, will monitor your #juanvote tweets, and we will alert authorities about the most important and most urgent incidents.

Why do we do this

We in #juanvote believe in democracy in action, and in the role of netizens and our social media tools in our country. If our tweets and our gadgets could help the country get better elections where the voice would be heard and would prevail, why not take action?

While we do this voluntarily, we challenge everyone to be transparent and credible. When tweeting reports, please be accurate. Tell us what happened, who was involved, where and when. Please do not invent reports. Please do not cause panic.

We did it first in 2010 and we want to do better this 2013. Armed with our social media tools, we could contribute positively through citizen journalism and reportage.

(#juanvote will have an Election Day meetup in Metro Manila later in the evening. Exact place and time to be announced online. See you.)

By tonyo

Yes, I'm a blogger.

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