THE Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) is undertaking major upgrades to its technology infrastructure as part of its thrust toward digital transformation.

In a release Monday, the ECJ said it recently completed several improvements, including the installation of its upgraded biometric identification system. The Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) is used to process large-scale biometric data such as performing a one-to-many search of electors’ fingerprints against the fingerprints in a current database to detect matches and prevent duplication.

“The acquisition of the ABIS will therefore maintain the integrity of the national voters’ list by ensuring electors can only be registered once, eliminating duplicate registrations of the same individual. With two million electors on the list, modern biometric technology is vital to an efficient and effective voter registration process.

“A core principle of the ECJ is researching and adopting new and improved technology. Through the standing committee on technology and development, the commission has identified several areas of improvement for the electoral system, including reinforcing the organisation’s cybersecurity framework, upgrading hardware and software for the maintenance of the electoral database and live scan,” said the release.

The ECJ said it has entered into an agreement with suppliers of a modern compact hand-held device to electronically identify electors at polling stations, adding that the electronic hand-held device (EHD) is an easy-to-use, high-performance Android-based equipment that provides an efficient and reliable method of authenticating electors’ identities on election day. Among its functionalities, the software has the capability to accurately identify and verify electors as well as generate statistical data and reports.

“The ECJ has invested approximately $684.215 million over the past three years to upgrade its technology infrastructure for greater security and efficiency to meet the evolving requirements of its electoral management functions.

“The commission is also exploring opportunities to offer online transactions for some of its services, including voter pre-registration and transfer requests. This would be facilitated through the ECJ website and make the process more convenient for electors and customers who wish to use that medium,” the ECJ said.

In addition, it said the wide-scale installation of Livescan software in constituency offices across the island is on the agenda of the commission. Livescan is an electronic means of capturing biometric data in digital format for faster, real-time processing and more efficient storage.

According to developers of the software, it speeds up the capture process and reduces operator error. A pilot of both processes, said the ECJ, is expected to commence within the current financial year.