Authorities hired Smartmatic to furnish a solution that would enable poll workers to swiftly manage voter authentication in 6 Northern provinces (Chaco, Corrientes, Jujuy, Formosa, Misiones and Salta) and in 14 municipalities of the greater Buenos Aires.

The authentication of voters is the first crucial step towards a legitimate election. This is why, around the world, authorities are relying on biometrics to maximize the transparency and efficiency of this process. According to International IDEA, as of 2016, 35% of more than 130 electoral commissions surveyed are capturing biometric data as part of their voter registration process.

Technology

VIU-500

This is Smartmatic’s all-in-one handheld device to facilitate ID management and polling station operation. Its biometric capturing capabilities allowed Argentinean poll workers to validate the identity of voters before they voted using real-time fingerprint comparisons with those stored in a database.

Identity Management System (IDMS)

Our IDMS was used as a central system to store and manage the biographic and biometric information of all registered voters. This system, synchronized with Argentina’s National ID database, performed quality control and integrity checks. IDMS allowed the VIU-500 devices in polling centers to interface seamlessly with the database to authenticate voters with maximum accuracy and speed. The system also generated customized reports about voter turnout and other polling and status reports. This allowed officials to audit the processes for control and transparency.

Services

Smartmatic provided the following services to the Electoral Commission:

• Configuration and testing of all hardware, peripherals, software and data
• Training of field operators
• Technical support and field troubleshooting services at all levels
• Distribution and retrieval of equipment