Voting: It's More Fun in the Philippines

Receive 100 pesos for voting in the Philippines, as long as it's for the candidate that pays you.

There have been various reports of jealousy in newspapers and websites by Filipinos about the US election. They look at the US election as a smooth process that lets voters see their results quickly, instead of waiting days, weeks, and sometimes months before seeing the results like here in the Philippines.

Of course, Americans don't see it the same way. They look towards Europe and see how smoothly their elections go and they are jealous of theirs. They see their own election as easily corruptible with voting machines that are easily hacked and "independent" Americans counting the votes that may not exactly be honest when doing so.

Nonetheless, almost any democratic country's elections should be envied by Filipinos, but most of the problem is caused by themselves. Filipinos like to give blame but never receive any of it.

The question is always, "Why can't we be like *country*?" But they never look at themselves as the reason why they cannot be.

The United States elections are quick because thousands upon thousands of Americans volunteer their nights to count ballots, even if they have to work the next day. Thousands upon thousands of Americans dedicate their election says to seeing out a true and fair election.

Even though there are Filipino volunteers during their own election, they do not take the opportunity to expedite the process nor to see it as a fair election.

Not too long ago, most elections in the United States took place on a paper ballot using a pen or pencil. After voting, the person places it into a sealed box that is only opened after the election has ended. Once it has, the box is then unlocked and votes are counted quickly by a large number of people at each polling location.

The Philippines doesn't have that luxury. Firstly, if you don't understand the "It's more fun" meme above this post, votes are easily bought. 100 pesos can buy a single vote. Thus, the person willing to spend the most money buying votes will likely be the winner. Since there are so many people in poverty where 100 pesos can mean meal money for a week or more, the voters generally accept it. They also see it as a way of thinking the candidate is "for the people" instead of thinking it is corruption and voter fraud like it truly is.

In the United States, voters give the politicians money to help them win. In the Philippines, the politicians give the voters money to help them win.

See the difference?

In the United States, where there are polling places all over cities, making lines short, with hundreds of volunteers, the Philippines generally has only few polling places with very few people manning them.

The reason why the Philippines envies the United States isn't because the United States has such a better process of electing an official, but it's because the people don't do anything to change it.

If you want to help make the election process quicker and more fair, volunteer at your local polling place and make sure no one is outside paying off potential voters. Of course, that will likely mean less votes are cast.