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The Pcos Machine

The document discusses the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machine that will be used for vote counting in the May 2010 Philippine elections. It provides details on the key parts of the PCOS machine, including the magnetic lock, feeder, screen, thermal printer, and flash card slots. It explains that ballots are fed into the machine and then drop into a ballot box underneath. The document also addresses security concerns, noting that while hacking is theoretically possible, it would require breaking the machine's heavily encrypted code all at once.

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Digimatics Digimatics
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23 views

The Pcos Machine

The document discusses the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machine that will be used for vote counting in the May 2010 Philippine elections. It provides details on the key parts of the PCOS machine, including the magnetic lock, feeder, screen, thermal printer, and flash card slots. It explains that ballots are fed into the machine and then drop into a ballot box underneath. The document also addresses security concerns, noting that while hacking is theoretically possible, it would require breaking the machine's heavily encrypted code all at once.

Uploaded by

Digimatics Digimatics
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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2010-02-01

the pcos machine

more of the elections...last time i shared with you how to vote this coming may
2010, on this post you'll get to know a new face in the voting precint, the pcos
machine short for precinct count optical scan. as its name suggests the pcos
machine will count votes in the precinct level through optical scanning of the
barcodes on the ballots. 82,200 of them will be deployed this election.

 parts of the pcos machine:

1. magnetic lock >> can be opened by a uniquely coded key which cannot be used
with others.
note: poll officials should turn this on only during start of polls day.
2. feeder >> this is where the ballots will be loaded for tabulation.
note: ballots can either be slid facing up, down or bottom first into the feeder.
3. screen >> displays messages that alerts poll officials and voters of the validity of
the ballot fed.
note: the screen will also tell you if your ballot was tabulated or not.
 4. thermal printer >> prints out reports before and after polls.
note: unlike regular thermal printouts, pcos machine printouts last upto several
months
5. flash card slots >> houses the compact flash cards where election results are
saved and encrypted.
note: in case of transmission failure, these will be transported to the nearest
precinct.
wonder what happens to the ballot after it's slid into the feeder? nope, it doesn't
get shredded. it drops into a ballot box right underneath the pcos machine. it will be
transparent so everyone sees that every ballot gets dropped in there, in any case a
manual recount is needed.

could the pcos machine be hacked? according to smartmatic's representative,


yes! but it would take every single person in the world to break a single pcos
machine's code all at the same time. a pcos machine will only be connected to the
internet where it will be vulnerable to hackers for a maximum of 5 minutes and
protected by 128 bit encryption. that's 2 to the 128th power of code combinations to
break.

if you have questions that are still unanswered about the pcos machine, visit the faq
page of ibanangayon.ph, comelec's official website for voter education.

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