1st PH Election for National Offices Act

Candidate filing rules and substitutions

Section 2 requires that certificates of candidacy for the election be signed and sworn to by the candidates themselves and filed with the Commission on Elections at least seventy-five days before the election.
Section 2 allows a political party nominating a candidate for a national office decided by the direct vote of the whole electorate of the Nation to file the candidate’s certificate of candidacy without the candidate’s signature nor oath.
Section 2 requires that any political party having officially nominated candidates for national positions file with the Commission on Elections a certificate of official nominations subscribed under oath by the President and Secretary of the corresponding political party.
If two or more certificates of candidacy for different national offices are filed by different political parties for the same candidate, the certificate filed by the party to which the candidate belongs shall prevail, unless the candidate decides otherwise.
If a candidate files a certificate of candidacy for a national office and is also nominated by one or more political parties for other national offices, the certificate filed by the candidate himself shall govern.
Any elective provincial, municipal, or city official running for an office other than the one for which he has been lastly elected shall be considered resigned from his office from the moment of the filing of his certificate of candidacy.

Official ballots: form, content, and voting method

Section 3 requires that ballots be uniform throughout the Philippines and be provided at public expense.
Ballots shall be made of white paper and shall bear at the middle the coat of arms of the Commonwealth, the words “Official Ballot”, the name of the city or municipality and province where the election is held, the date of the election, and the notice: “Fill out this ballot secretly inside the booth. Do not put any distinctive mark in any part of this ballot.”
Ballots shall be prepared to allow voting for a straight party ticket or for individual candidates.
Section 3 provides that tickets of the regularly organized political parties that participated in the last preceding election for national officials—as certified under oath by the national directorates of the respective parties—shall be printed on the ballot.
Ballots shall include one column for all elective positions to be filled, with spaces to be filled by voters who do not desire to vote a straight ticket.
Section 3 requires the ballot to print the notice:
“If you want to vote for all the official candidates of a political party to the exclusion of all other candidates, write the name of such political party in the space indicated. It shall then be unnecessary for you to write the names of the candidates you vote for. On the other had, if you want to vote for candidates belonging to different parties and/or for independent or individual candidates, write the names of the candidates you vote for.”
Ballots shall have nothing on the reverse side.
Section 3 requires a ballot coupon containing a space for the voter’s thumbmark.
Section 3 directs that the ballot shall be substantially in the form stated in the Act.

Counting rules for ballots and validity of votes

Section 4 requires boards of inspectors, in reading and appreciation of ballots for canvassing, to observe the following rules in addition to the rules of appreciation in the Election Code.
If a voter writes the name of a political party that nominated official candidates, the ballot shall be deemed a vote for each and every one of the official candidates of that party for the respective offices.
If a voter does not vote a straight ticket and votes for individual candidates, only the names written in the respective blank spaces shall be considered validly voted for; names written outside those blanks shall be disregarded as not written.
If a voter writes the names of two or more registered candidates for the same office in the same space for President, Vice-President, or Representative, the voter shall be deemed to have not cast any vote for that office.
If a voter writes two or more names in the space for President, Vice-President, or Representative, and only one is a registered candidate for that office, the vote shall be counted for the registered candidate.
For the senators blank spaces, if a voter writes the names of more than twenty-four (24) registered candidates, the vote shall be counted only for the first twenty-four (24) candidates whose names were written in the blank spaces.
If a voter votes the straight ticket of a political party and also writes names of candidates of the same party in one or more blank spaces, those written names shall be deemed not written, and the ballot shall be counted only as one vote for each candidate on the straight ticket.
If a voter votes the straight ticket of a political party and also writes names of candidates in one or more blank spaces (including names not matching the straight-ticket effect), those written names shall be deemed not written, and the vote shall be counted as cast for each and every official candidate of the party voted for.
Votes for individual candidates to fill positions not covered in an incomplete ticket of the party voted shall be counted.

Canvassing, statements, proclamation, and timelines

Section 5 requires provincial or city boards of canvassers to canvass all votes for President, Vice-President, Senators, and Members of the House of Representatives as soon as possible and not later than fifteen (15) days next following the day of the election.
After completion of canvass, the board shall prepare statements of:
- all votes received by each candidate for President and Vice-President;
- all votes for the office of Senator; and
- all votes for the office of Member of the House of Representatives for each legislative district.
After completion of the statements, the board shall proclaim elected the candidate for each legislative district who received the largest number of votes in that district.
If two or more candidates for the same district received the same largest number of votes, the board shall proceed in accordance with Section 160 of the Election Code.
For the election of President, Vice-President, and Senators, the board shall merely state and certify the number of votes polled and shall forthwith send the corresponding statements to the National Assembly by registered mail.
Section 6 requires the National Assembly to meet in session thirty (30) days after the election and publicly count votes cast for President, Vice-President, and Senators.
The persons with the highest number of votes for President and Vice-President shall be declared elected.
If two or more persons tie for the highest number of votes for either office (President or Vice-President), one shall be chosen by a majority vote of all the Members of the National Assembly.
The twenty-four (24) persons who obtained the highest number of votes for the office of Senator shall be declared elected.

Senate term grouping and tie-breaking lots

Section 7 applies when, from the canvass for Senators, two or more candidates have the same number of votes for the twenty-fourth (24th) place.
The National Assembly, after recording the tie in a corresponding statement, shall hold another session upon three (3) days’ notice to all tied candidates to allow them to be present if they so desire.
In the session, the National Assembly shall proceed to the drawing of lots among the tied candidates.
The National Assembly shall proclaim as elected the candidate favored by luck, and that candidate shall have the right to assume office in the same manner as if elected by plurality vote.
The National Assembly shall make a statement of the procedure followed, the result, and the subsequent proclamation, and shall send certified copies to the Commission on Elections and to each tied candidate.
Section 9 requires that the Senate, within ten (10) days after it has been organized (with election of its President), shall determine by lot which elected Senators belong to groups to serve:
- six years;
- four years; and
- two years.

Election documents filing, distribution, and sealing

Section 8 requires copies of the statements of election results for President, Vice-President, Senators, and Members of the House of Representatives to be made, signed by members of the provincial or city boards of canvassers present, and sealed with the seal of the provincial or city government.
A copy of the statement shall be filed by the provincial or city treasurer in his office.
A copy of the statement shall be sent immediately by registered mail to the Commission on Elections.
A copy of the statement shall be sent to the National Assembly.
A copy of the statement shall be sent to each of the respective candidates who received the largest number of votes in the province or city.

Compensation, per diems, and appropriations

Section 10 grants every inspector and poll clerk a per diem of five pesos for every day of actual service in meetings of the board.
Section 10 grants inspectors and poll clerks two days’ per diem for the day of the election.
Section 10 requires that, for his services relative to holding any election, the municipal treasurer receive, in addition to his salary, compensation equal to the salary of an inspector on the day of election.
Section 11 appropriates PHP 800,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, from the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated for election expenses under the Act.
If additional election expenditures exceed PHP 800,000, the excess shall be advanced from the Philippine Treasury and reimbursed in equal installments in the general appropriation acts for the fiscal years nineteen hundred and forty-three, nineteen hundred and forty-four, and nineteen hundred and forty-five.

Effectivity, duration, and governance limit

Section 12 provides that the Act takes effect upon its approval.
Section 12 limits governance to the first election for President and Vice President of the Philippines, Senators, and Members of the House of Representatives under the Constitution of the Philippines and its amendments.
The Act was enacted without Executive approval on June 22, 1941.