6 in 10 Filipinos are registered voters – SWS

More than a year before the national elections, only six in 10 Filipinos, equivalent to about 37.4 million voters, have been registered and "validated" to vote in the next elections, according to a survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS).

In the nationwide survey conducted last November 27-December 1, 2014, the SWS noted that 63 percent of adult Filipinos have been registered and validated to cast their votes in the May 2016 national elections.

SWS defined a validated voter as one who is registered and whose biometrics (photograph, fingerprint and signature) have been captured digitally by the voter registration machine of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

Meanwhile, 30 percent or about 17.8 million Filipinos were registered but not validated as of the end of 2014, while eight percent or 4.5 million has not registered.

The results of the survey, which used face-to-face interviews of 1,800 respondents, were first published in BusinessWorld last Wednesday (April 1).

With regard to voter validation in geographic areas, Mindanao was highest at 69 percent or some 9.4 million Filipinos.

It is followed by the Visayas at 64 percent (7.4 million), the rest of Luzon at 63 percent (16.6 million), and Metro Manila at 50 percent (4.1 million).

Those who said they have registered but not validated yet was highest in Metro Manila at 39 percent or about 3.3 million Filipinos. It is followed by the rest of Luzon at 31 percent (8.3 million); Visayas at 29 percent (3.3 million), and Mindanao at 22 percent (3 million).

Likewise, the percentage of unregistered voters was highest in Metro Manila at 11 percent (1.6 million). It was followed by Mindanao at 9 percent (1.2 million), Visayas at 7 percent (920,000), and the rest of Luzon at 6 percent (850,000).

According to SWS, area estimates were adjusted using the 2014 population projection of the Philippine Statistics Authority to obtain the national estimates.

The survey also found that there were more validated voters in the rural areas at 67 percent than in urban areas with 58 percent.