Advantages and disadvantages of an automated election

The Philippines has decided to turn to automated polls to select the 15th president. It had been 40 years that election officers tally and canvass votes manually, making suffrage a matter of survival and a government position vulnerable to divisiveness and corruption.

And so, the country has enacted initiatives to reform the system. But it was only until 1997 that the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) was authorized to count and canvass the national and local polls electronically.

Several controversies followed, so it took a decade and two years before the law was implemented. In fact, until the results were shown, its efficiency was disputed. Why would the average Filipino commend the recently concluded elections? Has the Philippines already got what it takes to run machines and let it rule our lives for the next six years? Will the populace cry foul if president-elect Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino didn't win?

There are advantages gained last time. But did it outweigh the disadvantages? There have been less negative comments anymore after the first automated elections...

I would not be surprised if it will be questioned again in 2016.