High turnout of youth voters noted

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – Provincial Commission on Elections (Comelec) supervisor Atty. Ian Lee Ananoria noted a high turnout of new youth voters.

Ananoria described the trend as an “unusually high turnout.”

He expects the youth registrants as a very “big force” to reckon with in the 2025 mid-term elections.

As of July 21, 2022, Ananoria reported 86,562 newly registered voters in Negros Occidental, including Bacolod City.

Ananoria said the bulk of the new registered voters come from the youth sector.

He said the youth are now “politically aware” because of social media, which he observed during the May 9 presidential election campaign.

The registration of new voters ended Friday, July 23, 2022.

Ananoria said that there will be no extension in the registration of new voters, per advice by the Comelec central office.

In Bacolod City alone, he reported that a maximum of 700 new voters per day were catered to by the Comelec personnel for registration.

Ananoria also said that the high turnout is due to the acceptance of transfer of voters.

He also said that despite moves in Congress to postpone the scheduled barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, they are still preparing for the December 5 polls.