Image Scanning Project: Openess, Transparency And Integrity Of Elections.

2011 UNITED NATIONS AND AFRICA

PUBLIC SERVICE FORUM

Agenda

• Project Drivers• Election Process• Voting and Counting Process• Election Demographics• Scanning System Demonstration• Scanning and Data Architecture• Benefits and Achievements

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Reasons for implementation of Image Scanning System

The project was required to improve the transparency of the election results processes and thereby increase political party and media confidence in the voting and counting process.

Political parties and electoral staff could view the scanned result slip images, and compare the signed copies to the results captured on the results system at all levels.

Other benefits included saved time expediting query resolutions, ability to verify any result, and manage capture exceptions.

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Election Processes supported by IT

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Voting and Counting Process

Voting

Counting

Results slips

to MEO

Verification

Capturing

Save and

PrintAuditFile

Exception

Check

Result and Images

Available

Double Entry

and Validation

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3

4

5

6

7810 9

A

B

C

D

E

Voting

to MEO

Verification

Audit

System vs. Original

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2

3

4

5

6

789

A

B

C

D

E

Slip Scanning

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Result Slip

|||||||||||

Result Slip Generation

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Election Demographics

1 National Office & 1 Results Operation Centre

9 Provincial Offices & 9 Provincial Centres

237 Municipal Offices & 60 Sub-MEO’s

19,726 Voting Stations (20,859 LGE)

1 National Election

19,726 result slipsLocal Government Elections 20,859

9 Provincial Elections

19,726 result slips(Some multi-page)

39,452 individual documents

Over 90,000 individual page scans

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Municipal OfficeLocations

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Completed Scanning Projects and Planned Extensions

• Image Scanning project– NPE 2009 Result Slip Scanning

• Implemented Extensions– Voter Registration (REC1 form) Bulk Scanning– Ongoing By-Election Result Slip Scanning– Local Government Elections 2011 Result Slip Scanning

• Planned Extensions– Financial documents (quotes, invoices etc)– Employment contracts (over 250,000 electoral staff)– Voting Station leases (21,000 contracts)– Candidate nomination forms (150,000 forms)

Scanning Process

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NPE 2009 Data Architecture

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2009 Results Operation Centre• Stakeholders

– Electoral Operations Staff– Political Parties– Local and International Media– Observers– Public

• Information Distribution Channels– Results System– Issue Tracker– Leader boards– GIS displays– PLC Meetings– Press Conferences– Website

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Benefits and Achievements – Result Slip Scanning

At the end of the 2.5 result processing days, the system correctly captured and indexed 100% of the expected images.

(nearly 40 000 documents totalling over 90 000 individual pages)

The result slip scanning project was viewed by the IEC as a tremendous success due to it:

• Providing complete process transparency to internal and external users, with little process impact or technical issues being experienced;

• Improved legitimacy and acceptability of election results;

• Improving accuracy and efficiency of the audit process was markedly improved with a record decrease in audit queries;

• Achieving uninterrupted scanning and capturing of the results;

• Providing minimal impact on the parallel business processes or the business infrastructure; and

• Scanned electronic copy of all result slip will be preserved for far longer than paper copies.

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Extended Benefits – Voter Registration

The project is viewed by the IEC as a tremendous success due to it also enabling the scanning and capturing of Voter Registration forms:

• Scanned over 16 million of 36 million voter registration forms to date;

• Electronic images can be accessed with ease from any office location and stored indefinitely;

• Address capturing can be done from any IEC office;• Improved speed of address capture;• Saving on transportation and handling of physical voter

registration forms to and from the address capture sites;• Future savings on storage costs of voter registration forms;• Forms are safeguarded against physical deterioration and loss.

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African Charter For Public Services

Contribution to the goals and strategic intension of the African Charter for Public Services, amongst others the following values and codes of conduct:

• Impartiality, fairness and due process in service delivery;• Access to information;• Promotion and protection of the rights of electoral stakeholder;• Professionalism;• Ethical behaviour;• Incompartibilities and conflict of interest; and,• Preventing and combarting corruption.

NPE 2009 Video

5 minute Video

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Thank You

Th

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nd