In 2016, Smartmatic provided the Sultanate of Oman with a vote counting solution to help authorities improve the country’s electoral process.

For the municipal elections, Smartmatic configured and delivered 1,273 vote counting machines. Smartmatic also printed 650,000 unique paper ballots.

Although Oman had previously used optical scanners for centralized vote counting, this was the first time that vote counting machines were deployed at the polling station level, moving technology closer to the voters and making its elections more efficient and transparent.

Technology

SAES-1800plus

Smartmatic optical scanner, which counts voter-marked paper ballots, has processed more than 3.2 billion votes in elections in several countries with maximum security and transparency.

Electoral Management System (EMS)

EMS is an application that generates all data needed to prepare and conduct an election. In Oman, EMS was used to organize election information data, configure the vote counting machines, generate PINS for each device and create ballot designs.

Results Application

The tool validates data integrity imported from the SAES-1800plus devices, decrypts the data, and sends it to the central database for further processing. This tool was key in streamlining the canvassing process, allowing authorities to announce results faster than the previous elections.

Services

Ballot printing

Smartmatic provided expert technical support for the ballot printing operations. Some 650,000 paper ballots with unique barcodes and UV ink were printed for the election.

Configuring election platform

Smartmatic customized its vote counting solution to meet the requirements of Oman’s Ministry of Interior.

Testing

Smartmatic tested all vote counting machines and the integration of its technology with the rest of the platform to ensure everything ran flawlessly on Election Day.

Training

Smartmatic trained a select group of operators who, in turn, prepared the entire election staff.