Comelec lists over 3 million voters for 2025 polls

MANILA, Philippines — The registered voters for the May 2025 midterm elections have reached more than three million, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

While happy with the high turnout of the voter registration, Comelec Chairman George Garcia stressed the importance of more people being able to cast their votes.

“Three million is just a number. What is important is the assurance that they are able to vote,” Garcia said.

He said the poll body would continue to encourage more voter registrants before the deadline ends on Sept. 30.

Comelec data showed that since the voter registration resumed on Feb. 12, 3,020,999 people have submitted their applications.

A total of 5,443 voters filed their applications at the Comelec central office in Intramuros, Manila.

The Comelec urged the over four million deactivated voters to get reactivated to be able to vote next year.

Garcia said the number of deactivated voters may still increase.

He said the high number of deactivated voters is “unacceptable because it means disenfranchisement of their right to vote.”

The Comelec also reported that the 20 automated counting machines initially delivered to the poll body have passed the HAT or hardware acceptance test.

HAT involves unpacking each box, turning the ACM unit on and running the diagnostics to ensure that each component is working under the Comelec specifications.