CONCEPTS | NIGERIA APPRAISAL | CHALLENGES | ROAD AHEAD

Essential IT Infrastructure Plan for a Sustainable e-Voting Process in Nigeria

E-VOTINGElectronic Voting (E-Voting) as a term encompasses a broad range of voting systems that apply electronic elements in one or more steps of the electoral cycle: the recording, the casting and/or the counting of votes. A basic Distinction: (1) E-voting systems in controlled environments include such forms as punch-card voting, optical scans and DRE. They are characterized by the fact that voting is taking place in a physically supervised (by representatives of government or independent electoral authorities) place such as a polling station

(2) E-voting in uncontrolled environments means that the casting of the vote can take place anywhere outside a polling station, e.g. at home at a PC. The vote is then transmitted over the Internet the television, telephone or mobile phone network. Another form of e-voting in a partially uncontrolled environment is kiosk voting. Hereby the voting machine is located in a public place that can only partially be controlled by election officials.

CONCEPTSE-VOTING TYPES

1.Punch-card Voting Systems2.Optical Scan (Voting) Systems

3.Direct-Recording Electronic (DRE) Voting Machines

4.Internet Voting

http://aceproject.org/ace-en/focus/e-voting/types-of-e-voting

E-VOTING IN OTHER CLIMESBrazil (Voting Machines)

Canada (Remote Internet Voting)

Estonia (Remote Internet Voting)

Germany (DRE Voting Machines)

India (Electronic Voting Machines & Remote Internet Voting)

Norway (Remote Internet Voting)

Switzerland (Remote Internet Voting)

The Netherlands (Voting Machines)

USA (Voting Machines)

NIGERIA 2015 E-VOTING APPRAISALTHINGS WE GOT RIGHT

The utilisation of the biometric capabilities of permanent voter’s cards and card-readers for accreditation of voters.Creation of electronic voters database

THINGS WE MUST STOP

Deployment of insufficiently technically trained personnel to man e-voting machines.Draining scarce national resources to import e-voting solutions that can be locally sourced with better quality.

THINGS WE GOT WRONG

Logistics movement and handling.Deployment of some untested card readers on election day.

THINGS WE MUST DOTo ensure that only persons with the right to vote are able to cast a vote.To ensure that every vote cast is counted and that each vote is counted only once.To maintain the voter’s right to form and to express his or her opinion in a free manner, without any coercion or undue influence.To protect the secrecy of the vote at all stages of the voting process.To guarantee accessibility to as many voters as possible, especially with regard to persons with disabilities.To make sure that the general public, as well as other key stakeholders in the electoral process, have confidence in the e-voting solution. Many e-voting experts consider trust as the most critical and all-encompassing goal.

FAILING DATABASE

The card readers were standalone units with the data of each polling unit loaded on them. The readers were expected to compare the data stored in the cards with the ones in its memory and determine whether they were original or fake.No real time card authentication from central database (if in existence)Deployment of card reader with voters data meant for a particular polling booth to a wrong one.This may have contributed to the many incidences of card readers inability to authenticate some cards at some polling booth.

CHALLENGESFAILING MACHINE

The card reader in some polling units could not capture biometrics even after several trials. President Goodluck Jonathan’s accreditation was delayed as three card readers failed to read his biometrics.

 INEC officials complained of low battery to power the card readers.

Some INEC officials were battling to adjust the date on a card reader that read February 14, which was the initial date fixed for elections before the six weeks extension by INEC.

In some polling stations, the INEC officials could not operate the card readers and decided to dump them.

Card reader hitches occurred in about 350 polling units across the country

EXPECTED GOALS Ensure that only human beings are listed, i.e., that only real people can vote;

That those human beings are Nigerians;

Those Nigerians are alive and of voting age (18 years old);

Those Nigerians of voting age can only vote once for a candidate of their choice at any particular election;

All votes are equal and that they are the actual and only determinants of the outcomes of electoral contests;

Nigerians can be assured and therefore be satisfied after the whole exercise that items 1 to 5 indeed had been conformed to – a kind of confirmatory or compliance test, and ultimately;

In the event of disputes, the huge investment in biometric technology would speed up adjudication by the judiciary and help judges correctly and convincingly administer justice.

ROAD AHEADEXPECTED BENEFITS

Get identity verification right

for the voting age

Permanently ensure only real

living people can vote 

Permanently ensure only one

genuine vote can come from

one genuine person for one

particular candidate seeking

one particular post.

Checkmate election fraud

Restore confidence in the

electoral process

BUILDING TRUST

DESIGN & USABILITY ASPECT

AUDITING INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

ROAD AHEADFUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Mobility of VoterConvenient UsageTransparent VotingFlexible Ballot FormatSupport Disabled VotersAccuracy EligibilityUniquenessAuditabilityVoter ConfirmationNo Over-votingPermit Under-votingDocumentation & Assurance

SOFTWARE SOLUTION & PROVIDERS

NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK

SECRECY OF VOTE

VERIFIABILITY VOTE CONFIRMATION BY VOTER

VOTER AUTHENTICATION

PERSONNEL INTEGRITY

AUDITING SYSTEM & DATA INTEGRITY

ROAD AHEADSECURITY REQUIREMENTSVoter AuthenticityRegistrationVoter AnonymitySystem IntegrityData IntegritySecrecy/PrivacyNon-coercibilityReliabilityAvailabilitySystem DisclosabilitySimplicityTesting & CertificationPersonnel IntegrityOperator Authentication & Control

TESTING & CERTIFICATION OF DEVICES AND APPLICATIONS

OPERATOR AUTHENTICATION & CONTROL

SECRECY OF VOTE

VERIFIABILITY NON COERCIBILITY

RISKS

COSTS

INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

ROAD AHEADSUNDRY OTHER ISSUES

Risks MitigationLocal Content Issues Capital Flight IssuesEmployment Generation IssuesEquipment Supply ContractsSoftware Vendor ContractsNational Project Challenge for Developing Home Grown SystemLitigation & E-voting Evidence

STAKEHOLDERS

NATIONAL LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK

There is one thing greater than all the armies of the world, and that is an idea whose time has come.

-Victor Hugo

Thank You!

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