section_path: Electoral system
section_name: Electoral system
paragraph_text: Electoral system
  
  In the Philippines, congressional and local elections, excluding the regional and barangay levels, have been synchronized to be held on the second Monday of May every three years, starting in 1992. Presidents and vice presidents have six-year terms, so they are only elected in even-numbered years (1992, 1998, and so on). Elections where the presidency is not on the ballot are called midterm elections, and occur in odd-numbered years (1995, 2001, and so on).
  
  Every seat up for election is voted on separately. Since 2010, general elections have been automated, with voters shading an oval next to their chosen candidate. For executive positions, elections are decided via the first-past-the-post voting (FPTP) system, where the voter has one choice. Elections to the Senate and local legislatures are held via multiple non-transferable vote, where the voter has x number of choices depending on the number of seats up for election (12 in the case of the Senate), and the x candidates with the highest number of votes win. For House elections, each voter has two votes, one via FPTP, and the other via a modified party-list proportional representation system.
  
  Elections are organized, run, and adjudicated by the COMELEC, an independent governmental body. Appeals are allowed under certain conditions to the Regional Trial Courts, the Congress, or the Supreme Court, sitting as the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal, the Senate Electoral Tribunal, or the Presidential Electoral Tribunal depending on the election being appealed.