On Monday, October 11, the National Electoral Council (CNE) of Venezuela started the first phase of the Electoral Data Audit, with the purpose of verifying the integrity of the voter fingerprint databases. The CNE seeks to guarantee the non-duplication of fingerprint records in the database that will be used during the regional and municipal elections.
An audit of the Voter Files Archive (ADE) allows the CNE to determine the data quality of the registered fingerprints and verify that they correspond with those of the Venezuelan citizens who are registered and authorized to vote in the regional and municipal elections taking place on November 21.
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The inauguration of the audit took place in the CNE data center at the Bolivarian University of Venezuela (UBV). It was carried out by both face-to face and online modes. More than 20 political parties and coalitions (OFPs) participated at the event, as well as technicians and electoral officials who employed a series of applications for validating the files containing the voters’ biographical information (name, date of birth, identity card number, photograph) and biometric information (fingerprints).
The audit proved the veracity of the data files and confirmed the non-duplication of the records. It also guaranteed the quality of the registered fingerprints, which showed a 98% efficiency in regard to the electronic impressions contained in the databases.
For this particular audit, a sample of 105,768 records was randomly chosen, corresponding to 0.5% of the total fingerprints database contained in the Electoral Registry. Additionally, the source codes contained in the fingerprint comparison applications were also validated during the first day of the audit.
The inauguration of the audit was also attended by national election observers, as well as by representatives of the Latin American Council of Electoral Experts (CEELA) who are visiting Venezuela for the third time in preparation for the November 21 elections. Other electoral oversight organizations from Latin America and from other parts of the world participated through the CNE’s digital platform.
The Election Data Audit will continue on Wednesday, October 13, starting from 9:00 a.m., with the participation of fingerprint experts who will lend their technical expertise.
Since 2013, the CNE broadcasts live each of the audits through its streaming channel CNETV which can be accessed on the CNE website: www.cne.gob.ve.
Featured image: Electoral fingerprint registry hardware. Photo: CNE
(CNE)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/GMS/SC
