Bolivia’s biometric voter registration, 2009: Scope
We provided technology and services to register over 5 million citizens between 3 August and 15 October, 2009, ready for the Presidential elections in December.
The Bolivian National Electoral Court (CNE, from its Spanish acronym) installed 3,000 registration centres, 1,700 of which were in fixed urban locations – and 1,300 of which were mobile, to reach more remote rural areas.
Technology
We equipped each registration centre with the following resources:
- Computer (either laptop or desktop)
- Signature pad
- Scanner
- Camera
- Fingerprint scanner
- Printer (laser printer for permanent stations and ink jet printer for portable ones)
- Back banner for photos
- Surge suppressor
Services
In addition to the rugged biometric registration technology, Smartmatic also supplied the CNE with the following services:
Training
Smartmatic trained instructors who in turn prepared the operators of registration units. We also trained nearly 300 technical support workers nationwide.
Technical support
We created a National Support Centre to assist in case of technical difficulties or faults in the registration process. This included hiring and training a sizable number of phone operators.
We also provided training and support for registering Bolivians living in Spain, Argentina, Brazil and the USA, where there are sizable expat communities.
Smartmatic’s experience in remote areas of countries such as Venezuela and The Philippines was crucial in helping reach voters in rugged, often high-altitude locations.
