In Social Weather Stations, they report, based on their exit poll, that:
2.5% could not find their names
Of the 1,048 in the exit poll sample who did not vote, 116 explained that they could not find their names in the voters list. Including them makes a total of 4,743 who in fact went to the polling places, although those who voted were only 4,627.
The raw proportion of missing names is 116 divided by 4743 or 2.4%, but with proper weighting the national average is 2.5% of those who went to polling places.
In aggregate terms, SWS estimates that 36.5 million visited the polling places, of whom 2.5% or about 900,000 could not find their names, leaving 35.6 million able to vote.
When the news of people being unable to find their names began to circulate, I opined on TV that this was the ammunition the opposition was looking for. Until, however, anyone could come up with hard numbers, it would be a difficult issue to use.
The much-maligned exit poll blasted by the opposition presents, however, the ammunition it needs.
In a closely contested election such as this one, the estimated figure of 900,000 voters being disenfranchised is enough to plant a seed of doubt in the eyes of opposition supporters and even the public at large.
Strangely, embarassingly, I almost didn’t vote myself (first time voter) because I “could not find my name” myself. Turns out I was registered in a totally different barangay and I got to vote as the polls were nearly closing at around 2.30pm.
It is funny how some people could not find their names while some Mindanao people are anticipating to see their names listed more than once.