COMELEC Announces Early Voting Hours for Vulnerable Groups in 2025 Polls
COMELEC – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) recently introduced the early voting hours for vulnerable groups in 2025 polls.
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will roll out an “early voting hours” policy across the country for the 2025 midterm and Bangsamoro parliamentary elections. Comelec Chairman George Garcia confirmed that the policy was approved following its successful pilot run during the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
However, early voting will remain optional for vulnerable groups. “Come the 2025 elections, we will already allow the elderly, persons with disability and pregnant women nationwide to vote exclusively between 5 a.m. until 7 a.m.,” Garcia said in a radio interview.
According to a report by Philstar, Garcia stated that Comelec is still awaiting the passage of a proposed law on early voting.
“But it has not been passed yet. So this will be the way of the Comelec, the early voting hours,” Garcia explained.
He emphasized that this schedule would benefit vulnerable groups by enabling them to vote separately from the general public.
“They will greatly benefit from this since the weather is not yet hot outside and there are not too many people in the polling precincts yet,” Garcia said.
The report also noted that during the 2023 pilot test, many elderly voters showed up as early as 3 a.m.
In the 2023 elections, vulnerable groups in Naga City and Muntinlupa City were allowed to vote between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. The test ran alongside a proposed bill in Congress that aims to provide designated early voting days for seniors, persons with disabilities, lawyers, and healthcare workers before the official election day.
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