Election Day is fast approaching and the excitement among Filipinos is reaching new heights as they get ready to cast their votes for the future of the nation. Twitter has been there with them every step of the way – from the start of the political campaigns to the Presidential TV debates – to help Filipinos get real-time election updates, connect with politicians and share their opinions about #PiliPinas2016. To help voters get the most out of Election Day, Twitter is launching a new #BumotoAko emoji, #SumbongKo reporting hashtag and #HalalanResults personalized election results card to help Filipinos participate in the election conversation on the final day.
Available only on May 9th, the new Twitter emoji reflects a key element of Election Day: the inked finger. The indelible ink on the forefinger of the right hand serves as a visual deterrent to electoral fraud, but it also serves as a visual symbol of democracy. Coming out of the voting booth, many Filipinos will take a selfie to show off their inked finger and Tweet it to the world as a proud expression of their democratic right to vote. By including #BumotoAko or #PHVote hashtags in their Tweets, people will see an inked finger emoji after the hashtag to add some fun and Pinoy Pride on Twitter.
On the other hand, people who are concerned about voting fraud on Election Day can report any unusual election activities, violations and irregularities via Twitter, too. By including a photo or video and using the #SumbongKo hashtag in their Tweets, @COMELEC will monitor and respond to their Tweets in a timely fashion.
Finally, after the voting centers have closed on Election Day, people can use Twitter to be among the first to know the election results. By sending a Tweet with #HalalanResults hashtag to @ABSCBNNews account, Twitter users will receive back a personalized card that shows the latest vote counts for Presidential, Vice Presidential, Senatorial and House of Representative (Party-List) seats. The data will be directly sourced from the COMELEC Transparency Server and the latest vote count will depend on how quickly COMELEC updates the server.