Misrepresented ballot template spurs false Philippine election claims

"Maybe you didn't notice but COMELEC ballots have 'Beijing, China' printed on it," read a Tagalog-language Facebook post on January 7, 2025 using the popular abbreviation for the Philippine Commission on Elections.

"Did China print out these ballots and will they commit fraud in the May elections?!" the post added. It included an image of a ballot template with a highlighted header text that said, "Beijing PE, China, Asia Pacific". 

"Why does it say BEIJING PE, CHINA? Are they involved here? Suspicious!" text overlaid to the image further read.

Image

Screenshot of false post taken on January 31, 2025

Similar posts were also shared elsewhere on Facebook after Comelec unveiled ballot templates for the Southeast Asian archipelago's May 12 senatorial and local vote (archived link).

The posts drew comments that further alleged the "Beijing PE, China" label was evidence China was interfering in the elections.

"Did China print these ballots and will they help with cheating in the elections?" one wrote.

"That means we are no longer Republic of the Philippines but already Beijing China," another said.

Confrontations between the two Asian neighbours over contested reefs and waters in the strategic South China Sea have escalated in recent months.

Overseas polling station

But John Rex Laudiangco, a spokesman for Comelec, told AFP on January 21 that "Beijing PE" refers to the polling station for overseas Filipino voters that will be set up at the Philippine embassy in the Chinese capital.

He said China is one of the countries which did not grant online voting for the Philippine elections in their jurisdiction. 

"That's why we will print 10,599 ballots for automated vote counting machines to be used by Filipinos there and in other countries which did not give their permission," he said. "The rest of the overseas voters will use digital ballots through the online voting and counting system."

Comelec published a list on August 23, 2024 showing polling stations in mainland China require overseas Filipino voters to cast their ballots in person or by post (archived link).

The same space in other sample ballots published by Comelec --  including in previous elections -- show the name of the respective polling precinct (archived link).

Image

Screenshots of sample ballots for elections in 2022 (left) and 2019 published on Comelec's website show the names of the overseas voting station