On Monday, Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) began audits of the voting machine software, to validate and certify the applications that will be used in the regional and municipal elections on November 21 (21N).
The audit of Venezuela’s voting machine software will last 12 days, during which CNE technicians, experts from political parties, and international electoral experts, will verify the transfer of information and security of the secret ballot system.
The electoral experts will have the responsibilities of:
• Evaluating the voting machine hardware.
• Verifying that they meet the transparency and security conditions.
• Guaranteeing a reliable election to preserve the secret ballot.
• Certifying the accuracy of the data and the operation of the software.
“This assessment must certify that there is no link between the identification of the voter and the vote, that the vote is recorded in exactly the way it is issued, without any modification, and that it will be counted properly and transmitted without distortions,” said the Electoral body.
Likewise, these reviews will be carried out under rigorous protocols for both face-to-face and virtual participation.
AUDITORÍA DEL SOFTWARE DE LA MÁQUINA DE VOTACIÓN https://t.co/vFSrtFoUBS
— cneesvenezuela (@cneesvzla) August 30, 2021
The electoral experts who will participate in the audits of the voting machines may do so through a streaming channel enabled for this purpose.
Meanwhile, those who will be present must comply with biosafety measures. The audit can also be followed in real time through the streaming channel on the CNE website.
RELATED CONTENT: CNE: 21,159,000 Voters Registered for 21N Regional Elections
The electoral organization added that this is the first of the comprehensive system review consisting of 16 audits to be carried out on the automated voting system before, during, and after the elections.
Electoral schedule on track
On August 20, CNE Rector Tania D’Amelio highlighted that the electoral schedule is 59% complete, and proceeding on schedule.
As of last Friday, the Automated Nomination System had registered 278 nominations for governors, 1,354 for legislators, 1,651 for mayors, and 14,332 for councilors.
Although there were already 17,615 applications throughout the country, the CNE announced that the process for submitting candidates was extended until September 1.
Featured image: Venezuela launches software audit for voting machines. Photo courtesy of RedRadioVE.
(RedRadioVE) by Ana Perdigón
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
Ana Perdigón
- October 11, 2024