Moment of truth in tomorrow’s count

The two long weeks of waiting for the official election results will finally come to an end tomorrow.

Before noon Saturday, two employees of the Commonwealth Election Commission will go to the Chalan Kanoa post office to retrieve election returns mailed by overseas voters.

Election commissioners will then process each absentee ballot, separating the valid ballots from the spoiled ones.

According to the Election Reform Act, the commission can determine whether a ballot is unspoiled by comparing the signature of the voter on the application for absentee ballot with that on the affidavit and the registration.

If the signatures appear to be by the same person, if the affidavit is properly completed, and if the envelope is sealed and it does not appear to have been tampered with, the notation “OK” will be placed on the return envelope and will be initialed by at least five commissioners.

Meanwhile, the commission may reject an absentee ballot if the signatures on the absentee ballot application and on the affidavit and registration were not made by the same person; if the affidavit is not properly completed; if the return envelope is not sealed or the seal appears to have been tampered with; if the commission has already received an absentee ballot from the person or the ballot has been received after the deadline; or if the voter has not complied with the requirements for marking absentee ballots.

The absentee ballot envelopes will not be opened during this process.

Only the returned envelopes marked “OK” will be counted and tabulated.

Commonwealth Election Commission executive director Gregorio Sablan said the ballot processing should be completed by 3pm. The counting of ballots will follow immediately. “We should be done counting by 4pm, if not earlier,” he said.

A total of 1,602 absentee ballots have been mailed or personally issued to overseas voters.

These absentee votes will ultimately decide this year’s close gubernatorial race. The top three candidates have posted very small margins in the partial tally of poll votes.

Currently, the gubernatorial tandem of Benigno R. Fitial and Tim P. Villagomez is leading with 3,497 votes or 28 percent of the total votes cast.

Independent candidates Heinz S. Hofschneider and David Apatang ranked second with 3,3371 votes or about 27 percent, while GOP’s Gov. Juan N. Babauta and Diego T. Benavente got 3,228 votes or 26 percent.

Democratic Party’s Froilan C. Tenorio and Antonio Santos, who got 2,256 or 18 percent of the total votes, have already conceded to their opponents.