the pcos machine

more of the elections...last time i shared with you how to vote this coming may 2010, on this post you'll get to know a new face in the voting precint, the pcos machine short for precinct count optical scan. as its name suggests the pcos machine will count votes in the precinct level through optical scanning of the barcodes on the ballots. 82,200 of them will be deployed this election.

 parts of the pcos machine:

1. magnetic lock >> can be opened by a uniquely coded key which cannot be used with others.
note: poll officials should turn this on only during start of polls day.
2. feeder >> this is where the ballots will be loaded for tabulation.
note: ballots can either be slid facing up, down or bottom first into the feeder.
3. screen >> displays messages that alerts poll officials and voters of the validity of the ballot fed.
note: the screen will also tell you if your ballot was tabulated or not.
 4. thermal printer >> prints out reports before and after polls.
note: unlike regular thermal printouts, pcos machine printouts last upto several months
5. flash card slots >> houses the compact flash cards where election results are saved and encrypted.
note: in case of transmission failure, these will be transported to the nearest precinct.

wonder what happens to the ballot after it's slid into the feeder? nope, it doesn't get shredded. it drops into a ballot box right underneath the pcos machine. it will be transparent so everyone sees that every ballot gets dropped in there, in any case a manual recount is needed.

could the pcos machine be hacked? according to smartmatic's representative, yes! but it would take every single person in the world to break a single pcos machine's code all at the same time. a pcos machine will only be connected to the internet where it will be vulnerable to hackers for a maximum of 5 minutes and protected by 128 bit encryption. that's 2 to the 128th power of code combinations to break.

if you have questions that are still unanswered about the pcos machine, visit the faq page of ibanangayon.ph, comelec's official website for voter education.