The Commission on Elections in the Philippines Selects Gemalto’s Biometrics Solution to Ensure Secure and Rapid Voter Authentication
PARIS LA DÉFENSE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Electoral commissions have the delicate task of maintaining reliable
and correct electoral registers as part of the execution of the
election. To help ensure secure and accurate voter verification before
issuing ballot slips, the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) in the
Philippines has appointed Gemalto, a Thales company, and Nextix as
technology partners to develop, deploy and support the Biometric Voter
Verification System for the 2019 Philippines National and Local
Election. The aim is to automate the verification of voters through the
use of their biometrics information.
Addressing this need, Gemalto will provide over 30,000 biometric tablets
to enable rapid identification and authentication of voters in the
designated precincts across the Philippines. With the tablets that
feature Gemalto’s Voter Verification System, authorities will be able to
reduce fraud by verifying voters’ identity via their fingerprints. This
will also help cut waiting times for the voters and authorities
tremendously.
COMELEC will use the Gemalto solution to verify the identity of voters.
This was put to a test at the first time during the mock elections held
on 19th Jan 2019, in preparation for the actual polls in May 2019.
Instead of manually checking the COMELEC’s voters list, members of the
Board of Election Inspectors used the Voter Registration Verification
Tablet, a system that removes the need for voters to present their
identification card. Thanks to the tablet the electoral board will
identify the voter’s with his fingerprint to determine if the voter is
registered and whether the individual belongs to the certain precinct.
If the individual is a registered voter, the tablet will validate the
registration and a he will receive the necessary ballot.
Fingerprints serve as a key to avoid duplication. The aim is to ensure
that citizens are not able to use several identities to vote multiple
times. The Voter Verification System implements a quality control to
verify that the data has been captured and verified correctly.
Authorities are also able to track voting activity and participation
rate via logs and audit reports. These steps will ensure the best
possible level of security for elections to take place.
“Secure, reliable and comprehensive enrollment and ID verification
are the foundations of citizen registration, voting processes and border
controls,” said Dir. James Jimenez. “With Gemalto’s Voter
Verification System, we are able to streamline not only the verification
but moving ahead, our registration processes bring greater convenience
to citizens, guaranteeing the quality and confidentiality of data
captured. We are excited to deploy this solution – a first for the
Philippines government.”
“In today’s environment, authorities face numerous challenges.
Biometrics serve as the primary data that establishes an individual’s
identity is accurately collected and verified. We are proud that the
Commission on Elections (COMELEC) chose Gemalto biometric solution to
verify the identity of voters. It is an honor to help COMELEC
transform the agility and efficiency of the voters’ verification and
registration processes.” Tan Teck Lee, Asia President,
Identity & Biometric Solutions, Thales.
Note to editors
Gemalto’s solutions are at the heart of modern life, from payment to
enterprise security and the internet of things. Gemalto’s technologies
and services authenticate people, transactions and objects, encrypt data
and create value for software – enabling businesses and governments to
deliver secure digital services for billions of individuals and things.
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Constance
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constance.arnoux@thalesgroup.com