Top Left: Voters filing out their ballots during the field voting in Hilo, Hawaii on April 24, 2016. Top Right: Consul General Gina Jamoralin with the members of the media in one of the Consulate’s election information dissemination campaigns for the 2016 Philippine National Election.Bottom Left: Registered voters cast their vote at the Consulate for the first time since Overseas Absentee Voting started in 2004 with PCGH adopting mixed mode of voting where voters can vote in person or through postal mail. Bottom Right: A registered voter feeds his ballot at the vote counting machine and receives his voter receipt from the SBEI member.

The Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu (PCGH) registered a 30.41% voter turnout during the conduct of overseas absentee voting for the 2016 Philippine National Elections. Two thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight (2,898) out of the 9,527 registered voters in Hawaii and American Samoa participated in the elections.

For this year’s elections, the Consulate became one of the thirty (30) foreign service posts who were mandated by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to use the automated election system and mixed mode of voting. Registered voters in Hawaii, American Samoa, and French Polynesia were given the option to vote personally at the Consulate by feeding their ballots in the vote counting machines (VCMs). Those who were unable to cast their ballot in person received their ballots through postal mail. Election period opened on April 9, 2016 and ended at 11:00 PM of May 8, 2016, which coincides with the close of the voting period in the Philippines.

During the 30-day voting period, PCGH conducted various activities aimed at increasing voter turn-out. Members of the Consulate’s Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group (SBRCG) held field voting in three (3) areas: the islands of Maui and Hilo in Hawaii and in Tafuna in American Samoa, where a large population of Filipinos are concentrated. The Consulate likewise held information campaigns involving the Filipino community and members of the media to promote the 2016 elections. END