Is technology used for identifying voters at polling stations (electronic poll books)?

Statement by the ministry of communication and information technology. 

http://www.mcit.gov.eg/Media_Center/Press_Room/Press_Releases/3066

Web links to more sources on this issue: http://www.mcit.gov.eg/Media_Center/Press_Room/Press_Releases/3082

http://www.mcit.gov.eg/Media_Center/Press_Room/Press_Releases/3103

The HighElections Committee researched the use of e-poll books since late 2011. In late2013, it decided to test out such devices at a limited number of pollingstations during the 2014 referendum on constitutional amendments. The e-pollbooks were planned to be used at 41 polling stations at areas with good mobiledata coverage in the governorates of Cairo and Giza. Due to logistical reasons,only 37 polling stations used them. The limited pilot was a success.

Building uponthe success from the referendum, the Presidential Elections Committee decidedto use more of those devices in the 2014 presidential election. The Ministry ofCommunications and IT was charged with procurement of 2,000 such devices. Thedevices were not limited to the use of e-poll books. They were used in theissuance of presidential candidate endorsements (25,000 notarized endorsementswas a requirement for candidate registration). The device was paired up with aprinter and such endorsements were printed, based on the information capturedfrom the voter’s ID card, at notary public offices.

The second useof those devices came with the introduction of out-of-governorate registration.The electoral law allowed for voters that are not in their registered governorateson e-day to vote, provided they registered for that 14 days ahead of e-day. Thedevices were used to capture voter information, as well as governorate anddistrict in which he/she wants to vote.

The third usewas voter authentication in out-of-country voting, which started 12 days aheadof in-country e-day, and ended 7 days before it. The device was used to scanpassports and ID cards (capturing the NID number) and checked for thefulfillment of 2 conditions; being a registered voter, and not having votedbefore in the current election. If voter satisfied both conditions, they wereallowed to vote at any of the 141 locations where this system was applied. Lateron, those who voted out-of-country were removed from the in-country poll booksat their polling stations – hence, the 7 day difference between the conclusionof OCV and e-day. Therefore, any voter who already voted in any diplomatic missionwould not be able to re-vote in any other embassy or consulate abroad or insideEgypt.

The fourthapplication was e-poll book at 111 polling stations with good mobile data coverin the governorates of Cairo, Giza and Alexandria. The fifth and finalapplication of said devices was transmission of results from district level(352 stations) to central level, as part of a parallel process.

All saidapplications were implemented by the Ministry of State for AdministrativeDevelopment and the Ministry of Communications & IT, under the umbrella ofthe Presidential Elections Committee.

e-Poll booksare planned to be used at 1,000 polling stations during the upcomingparliamentary election in 2015, by the High Elections Committee.