THE number of registered voters in the 2025 midterm polls is likely to increase by 4 million to 5 million or a leap to between 70 million and 71 million from 66 million in 2022, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said.

Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia said over the weekend that based on reports from 93 percent of the Election Officers nationwide, as of October 26, the number of registered voters stands at 68,571,499.

Garcia said they were still waiting for the figures from overseas voters and the Bangsamoro Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

"The overseas voters and Bangsamoro are not yet there. [Once the numbers are in], the total would reach around 70 to 71 million," the poll chief added.

Also, Garcia said that printing of ballots will start before the end of the year, and the number should correspond to the total registered voters.

"It will be one ballot per person. Unlike in the past, there will always be excess ballots. But now, there will be no excess ballots that will be printed," he added.

Garcia also assured the public of complete transparency in the printing of ballots at the National Printing Office in Quezon City.

"From day one, the printing of the test ballots, up to the last when we are to ship them, everybody will be present to see for themselves how we are going to print and prepare the most important document in an election," he said.

At the end of the voter registration period, Comelec records showed 6,442,112 applied for registration. Of the number, more than three million were new voters, including more or less 100,000 reactivated.

Garcia, however, said that 5.3 million deactivated voters failed to reactivate their status.

Voters are placed on the deactivated list if they fail to vote in two successive elections. One is also removed from the list because of a court decision and because of death, among other reasons.