Pansamantalang sinuspendi ng Philippine Consulate General sa New York ang ballot feeding sa kanilang Kalayaan Hall dahil sa technical issue kabilang dito ang vote counting machines na ginagamit sa overseas absentee voting.
Sa isang advisory, sinabi ng Consulate General na ang technical issues na nangyari sa latter part ng ballot feeding process kung saan ang isa sa dalawang natitirang balota ay na-stuck sa loob ng isa sa mga VCMs.
Bagamat mayroong magagamit na isa pang VCM, nagpasya ang Consulate na ihinto muna ang ballot feeding hanggang sa makatanggap ng guidance mula sa Commission on Elections kung maaari pang gamitin ang naturang VCM na sumasailalim sa final testing.
Pansamantala habang inaantay ang tugon dito mula sa Comelec, ni-reschedule ng Consulate ang ballot feeding ng natitirang balota sa Lunes, Abril 25.
“The Consulate General of the Philippines in New York informs the public that it had to suspend the ballot feeding at the Kalayaan Hall this afternoon after one of its Vote Counting Machines (VCMs) encountered a technical issue. The technical issue was encountered during the later part of the ballot feeding process when one of two remaining ballots got stuck inside one of the VCMs. It was witnessed by election observers who were present and was also captured on our live Facebook video stream. Although a secondary VCM is available, the Consulate decided to suspend the ballot feeding until it receives guidance from the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) whether said VCM, which has not undergone final testing, can be utilized,” bahagi ng statement ng Philippine Consulate.
