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Dr. Benito Nacif Electoral Council, IFE Mexico 9 September, 2010. Building Trust through an Independent Electoral Registry: the Mexican Experience. Transition to democracy. Voter registration : a key issue Opposition rejected the old system for it failed to guarantee :
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Dr. Benito NacifElectoral Council, IFEMexico9 September, 2010 Building Trust through an Independent Electoral Registry: the Mexican Experience
Transitiontodemocracy Voterregistration: a keyissue Oppositionrejectedtheoldsystemforitfailedtoguarantee: 1) Universal suffrage 2) Theprinciple of onepersonone vote From 1990-1992 a new system of voterregistrationwasintroduced
Theregistry of voters • One national registry serves for the organization of federal and state elections. It has the following features: • A) It is independent from the government. • It is administrated by the Federal Elections Institute (IFE) –an autonomous body appointed by consensus. • Representatives of political parties supervise the administration and take part of some decisions. • B) It is permanent. • Its offices are open on a regular basis to serve the public.
Incentives toregister • Mexican nationals have the legal obligation to register in the Federal Registry of Voters and to report change of address. • There are, however, no sanctions to enforce compliance with these civil obligations. • The system relies on a positive incentive: the Voting Card was granted recognition as an official identification document. • Voting Card: an ID that is free, accessible and universally accepted. • As an incentive to register, it has been a success.
In 2009, 96.1% of the voting -age population are registered to vote. Percentage of Citizens Registered to Vote 96.1% 95.2%
Photo Voters List: Contains those citizens who requested their registration to Electoral Roll and already have their Photo ID Voters Card. • To vote, the citizens must present his Photo ID Voters Card to prove that his name and face are the same as the ones printed on the list. Security Features In addition to computer controls, the Voter’s List contains various elements of security, including the security paper, which contains small filaments visible in the daylight and other visible only under ultraviolet light; besides this paper, has watermarks with the logo of the IFE distributed across the sheet.
The Federal Electoral Registry It is a department within IFE that has the following responsibilities: • Issue the Photo Voting Card • Integrate and update the Electoral Roll • Provide Photo Voters List • Keep the Electoral Geography updated.
Infraestructure • The Federal Electoral Registry has 843 enrollment offices distributed in 300 districts throughout the country. • On September 1st 2010, there were 2,227 workstations; an average of 2.6 workstations per enrollment office. • Applications processed in 2010:13.6 million • Applications by type: • New registrations: 26% • Change of Address:44% • Replacement: 14% • Renewal (e.g. ID “03”): 0.7% • Correction of personal data: 15% • Reinstatement (those who lost their civilian rights by the judiciary): 0.3%
Database • On July 31, 2010, there were 80.2 millioncitizens registered to vote and 78.9 citizens enrolled in the Voters List. • 75% of the registers in the Electoral Roll are supported by biometrics. • The use of a Multibiometric Integral Information System (MIIS)help to: • Minimize possible duplicate records in the Electoral Roll using the multibiometric solution during the preventive and corrective purging. • Make the corrective purging of duplicate records through the use of the comparison of fingerprints (index fingers). • Increase the capacity of the multibiometric solution with the incremental use of the fingerprints.
Financialcost • In 2010, the total cost of the voting registration system is US$144.5 million. With 13.6 million applications expected, the average cost is: • US$10.6 per application processed • US$1.81 per registered voter • The annual budget for2011 will be US$166 Million. The estimated average cost: • US$ 10.7 per application processed • US$ 2.04 per registered voter * Exchange rate: 1 USD = 12.9436 MXN ** Data calculated at prices of 2011
Pending challenges • High rate of citizens who fail to notify change of address: • 19.1 % do not live in their reported address • 3.2 % live out of the country (2.5 million people) • Deaths non reported by Civil Registries or relatives: • An 1.6 % of the voter list (1.3 million) • To deal with theses problems, Congress introduced in 2008 a 10 year limit to the validity of the Voting Card • The same incentive that has been effective in maintaining high levels of coverage is being used to update the voters list • IFE expects a significant impact on voter list accuracy in the following years.
The future of the voter’s registration list in Mexico To guarantee the high levels of coverage and accuracy of the Electoral roll. To extend the use of the multibiometric identification of the citizens (10 fingerprints, iris). To reinforce the security levels and data protection of the Electoral Roll. To pass toward a new “generation” of Photo ID Vote Card: that its 2 functions (vote and personal identification) will be supported by the needed legal reforms. To protect the citizen confidence to their Electoral instruments.
