5. Voting of Persons Deprived of Liberty (CR 9371)

Detainee Voting

Detainee voting (either through the special polling place inside jails or escorted voting) may be availed of by any registered detainee whose registration record is not transferred / deactivated / deleted.

Detainee

Any person:

• Confined in jail,
• Formally charged for any crime/s and
• awaiting/undergoing trial; or
• Serving sentence of imprisonment for less than one (1) year; or
• Whose conviction of a crime involving disloyalty to the duly constituted government such as rebellion, sedition, violation of the firearms laws or any crime against national security or for any other crime is on appeal.

Escorted Voting

This is a voting mechanism for

• Detainee voters who are residents/registered voters of municipalities/cities other than the town/city of incarceration; and/or for
• Detainee voters in jail facilities where no special polling places are established.

NOTE: The pertinent provisions of COMELEC Resolution No. 9149, promulgated on February 22,  2011 and other Resolutions as far as the registration period; qualifications and disqualifications of applicants for registration; the procedures for filing, processing and hearing of applications; and notices and publication requirements are adopted.

Detainee Voters May Vote for National Positions Only

Detainee Voting Under Resolution No. 9371

In G.R. No. 221201, decided March 29, 2022, the Supreme Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order on April 19, 2016, enjoining the COMELEC from enforcing COMELEC Resolution No. 9371 on the local level. Under that TRO, detainee voters could only vote for the national positions. The Supreme Court lifted the TRO on March 29, 2022, allowing the COMELEC to fully implement Resolution No. 9371 in upcoming and succeeding elections; detainee voting is no longer restricted to national positions on the basis of that TRO.

For the 2016 election, pursuant to the TRO, the COMELEC issued COMELEC Resolution No. 10112, amending Resolution No. 10057. Its instructions provided that:

• The Board of Election Inspector (BEI) shall instruct the DV, in clear terms, that pursuant to the TRO, he or she can only vote for national candidates namely, candidates for Pres., VP, Senators and Party List
• All ballots that contain votes for local positions shall be separated and transmitted to COMELEC Manila in a sealed envelope. The votes appearing in said ballots for national positions, if any, shall be counted.
• A Special Board of Election Inspectors for counting shall be established for the purpose.

Local and Overseas Absentee Voting