History & Introduction

Voter registration is one of the most important activities that an electoral management body (EMB) needs to
conduct, but it is also one of the most costly in terms of both time and resources.
In traditional Voting System, each voter has to carry an identity proof which is used establish the identity of
the person. The identification process takes a lot of time since every person has to prove his identity
individually and then only he or she is allowed to cast the vote.
Also, voting is a very sensitive process because the chances of forgery(fake) are high. In order to simplify
the process and avoid various errors, we have developed a biometric voting machine which uses a person’s
finger print as the proof of his identity.
There will be no need for the person to carry documents regarding his identity. The voter will scan his finger
at the finger print scanner which will read the data and pass it for verification from the database.
If the data matches with the information from the database, the person will be eligible to cast the vote.
Otherwise, the LCD module will display a text that the person is not qualified for casting the vote.
Similarly, the LCD will display various messages regarding the voting, and the casting of votes will be done
via push buttons or switches. The project is designed with the combination of embedded systems and finger
print module.
The basic components required include a microcontroller, push buttons, LCD module, finger print module
and a unit for interfacing the microcontroller with the finger print module.
Background
Biometrics involves the measurement and analysis of unique physical or behavioural characteristics,
especially as a means of verifying and identifying an individual. The broad range of biometric characteristics
that can be measured includes fingerprints, palm prints, retina and iris scans, voice patterns and DNA
profiles (Bolle and Pankanti 2004).
In a biometric verification system, an individual claims an identity, for example by providing a name and
date of birth. The individual’s biometric features are captured and compared to previously captured and
confirmed biometric features of that individual. Such a one-to-one comparison determines whether the
individual is indeed who they claim to be.
In a biometric identification system, the individual does not need to claim an identity. His or her biometric
features are captured and compared to the features of all previously captured biometric features stored in a
biometric database. This one-to-many comparison seeks to determine who the individual is.
The application of biometrics as such is not new. The first fingerprint catalogues of known criminals were
established in the second half of the 19thcentury for the use of police investigators and criminal courts
(National Institute of Justice 2011). The second half of the 20th century saw further advances in the
development of automated biometric identification systems (Jain, FlynRen and Ross 2008). In recent years,
the application of biometric technologies has expanded rapidly in diverse fields such as access control,
border security, citizen registration, passports and identification cards, and elections (Das 2016).
In the late 1990s and early 2000s analogue technologies were used to capture biometric voter registration
data. For example, Polaroid cameras were used to capture facial images of registrants, and registrants’
fingerprints were recorded using ink and paper. This information was attached to paper registration forms
and later scanned and digitalized at data centres (EISA 2010). Now, such analogue systems are obsolete, and
biometric data are largely captured using electronic registration kits, including digital cameras and digital
fingerprint pads. The number of countries adopting biometrics in elections has steadily increased to over 50,
with significant differences between regions: while there are virtually no users in Europe, about half of the
countries in Africa and Latin America use this technology in elections (see the International IDEA ICTs in
Elections Database for more information).

Capturing, processing and storing biometric data

The most commonly captured biometric features for electoral purposes are fingerprints for automatic
fingerprint identification systems (AFISs), facial images of voters for facial recognition systems (FRSs) and
sometimes also scanned signatures. Iris-recognition systems are a relatively new option and not yet widely
used for electoral purposes.
All biometric data is first captured by a camera or sensor as an image. This image is then further processed
into a biometric template. Matching algorithms used for verification and de-duplication are based on
comparing these biometric templates.
While collecting data in the form of biometric templates is enough for matching algorithms, these templates
can be proprietary to the system vendor. Biometric templates cannot be transferred back into the original
images. To avoid vendor lock, it is advisable to store both the captured images and the templates in the
registration database. Wavelet scalar quantization (WSQ) is a common format for storing fingerprint images.
In case of a change of vendor, this technology makes it possible to re-create new templates based on existing
images without repeating the registration exercise.
Application of biometric technologies in elections

In elections, biometric technology can be used in one or more of the following processes:

Biometric voter registration (BVR)

For voter registration, biometric data for each eligible voter is captured using biometric registration kits. The
resulting voter register contains biometric data such as fingerprints and facial images in addition to biographical
and personal data, such as an individual’s name, date of birth, national ID number, address and assigned polling
station.

In countries where voter registers are derived from civic or population registers and where those registers
already contain biometric data, this data can very likely also be used for electoral purposes, thus greatly
simplifying the establishment of a biometric voter register.

A biometric voter register is a precondition for the following applications:

Biometric voter ID cards

Once a biometric voter register has been established, some of the captured data can be printed and/or stored
electronically on voter ID cards. A voter’s photo is usually printed on their ID card. Sometimes, cards also
include an image of a fingerprint and the voter’s signature.

Voter ID cards can also store biometric information in digital format on a microchip, magnetic strip or barcode
included on the card.

Biometric de-duplication

A biometric voter register allows for more efficient detection and deletion of duplicate registrants. Biometric
de-duplication is usually conducted by matching fingerprint data, often in combination with facial-recognition
systems. De- duplication is often the main reason for the establishment of biometric voter registers, especially
when many citizens have no reliable identification documents, when no reliable civic registration exists or
when the quality of alphanumeric data in the voter register is poor.

Biometric voter verification (BVV)

In order to prevent identity theft and multiple voting, biometric technology can be used at polling stations to
confirm the identity and eligibility of voters. Electronic verification is usually conducted by devices such as
electronic poll books that capture voters’ fingerprints and check them against the fingerprints stored in the voter
registration database for the polling station. Alternatively, fingerprints can be checked against fingerprint data
stored digitally on a voter identification card.

A simpler way of utilizing biometric data at polling stations is the inclusion of voters’ photos on the printed
voter list to enable polling staff to visually check the identity of voters.