MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) assured the public on Friday that leaving certain sections of the 2025 midterm election ballots blank—also known as “undervoting”—is allowed and will not invalidate a voter’s ballot.
In an official advisory, the Comelec dismissed as false a social media post warning voters against leaving any blanks on their ballots. The post falsely claimed that so-called “dirty tricks groups” might exploit these blank spaces by fraudulently filling them in.
“This social media post warning against undervoting is FAKE NEWS,” the poll body emphasized. “Undervoting is a decision that only the voter has the right to make.”
Comelec reiterated that each voter will personally feed their completed ballot into the Automated Counting Machine (ACM), ensuring that the votes are securely cast. Voters will also be able to verify their choices through the ACM’s display screen and a Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT).
Over 68.6 million Filipinos are registered to vote in the upcoming elections, which President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has declared a special non-working holiday to allow citizens to fully participate in the electoral process.
On election day, voters will select 12 senators and one party-list group for the House of Representatives. For local positions, they will choose a district representative, provincial governor and vice governor, members of the provincial board (Sangguniang Panlalawigan), as well as city or municipal mayors, vice mayors, and councilors (Sangguniang Panlungsod).
Comelec urged the public to rely only on official sources for accurate election-related information.
