Biometric Authentication of Voters and Voting Process a Study of Senatorial Election
CHAPTER ONE
Objectives Of Study
The aim of this project is to improve understanding of biometric technologies among key electoral stakeholders in Nigeria during the senatorial elections, especially the independent national electoral commission, governments and decision-making bodies, and civil society, including voters and to investigate the biometrics authentication during the voting process in the senatorial elections. With the following objectives
- To review the voting process in Nigeria
- To review the biometric authentication system
- To investigate if the biometric systems increased the credibility of the senatorial elections in Nigeria.
- To investigate the challenges of the biometric technology
Chapter Two
Introduction
There are a lot of expectations when it comes to biometric authentication of voters, and the introduction of new biometric technologies can create a new set of challenges. Nevertheless this chapter reviews previous knowledge and reviews significant literature to give us a conceptual frame work, theoretical framework, empirical framework and the summary of the review.
THE CONCEPT OF VOTER AUTHENTIFICATION
For the voter registration and authentication processes the voter is expected to have his or her fingerprints captured. This is to prevent multiple registrations that can lead to over voting. Thus, during the authentication period, voters are expected to undergo a matching verification of their fingerprint samples against the values stored in the database which is identified through the use of a unique voter identification number assigned during registration to stamp multiple registrations by voters through the combined use of both the unique voter identification number and their unique fingerprints. Biometrics is the process by which a person’s unique physical and/or behavioral trait(s) are used to confirm the identity of the person; The identifiers are distinctive and measurable characteristics they are Physiological characteristics like fingerprint, palm veins, face recognition, DNA, palm print, hand geometry, iris recognition, retina, etc. Biometric technology is gaining ground by the day, as issues of identification, verification and authentication are on the increase – all sectors: Drivers’ license, international passports, ID cards, access controls, banking, etc are now adapting this technology Biometrics Voter Authentication (BVA) is the process where a system matches the fingerprint (or any other biometrics) provided by a voter, with a certain already existing biometrics feature. It does a 1:1 match and it asks the question – “Is this person who he/she says he/she is?
It reads the biometrics feature provided and matches it with existing biometrics data to find out if there is a match. This process takes place during the accreditation of voters on election day; prior to the 2015 elections, Voter accreditation has hitherto been manual, exposing the process to human manipulations and fraudulent practices however The manual process was improved upon in 2011 with the introduction of accreditation before voting that is to ensure that voting commences about the same time in all the Polling Units. during the 2015 General Election however, INEC decided to apply biometric technology to improve the process by introducing the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) and the Smart Card Reader (SCR).
The accreditation process was broken down into three:
- Identification – physical comparison of the face of the card holder with the image displayed on the SCR when the PVC is read;
- Verification (that the card is original) – being able to read the information on the chip of the PVC presented;
- Authentication – comparison of the fingerprint stored on the card with what was physically presented and scanned by the reader; Once a PVC has been read and accredited by the SCR, the Voter Identification Number (VIN) is stored in the reader and it does not allow the accreditation of that VIN on that particular reader any longer.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used the descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to a critical analysis of Biometric authentication of voters and voting process.
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
The Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information a critical analysis of impact of vocational education on career decision among senior secondary school students. 200 staff of INEC were selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
DATA ANALYSIS
The data collected from the respondents were analyzed in tabular form with simple percentage for easy understanding.
A total of 133(one hundred and thirty three) questionnaires were distributed and 133 questionnaires were returned.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to have a critical analysis biometric authentication of voters and voting process, a case study of the senatorial election.
In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations are made, which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefit in addressing the challenges of vocational education and career decision.
Summary
This study aimed at having a critical analysis of impact of vocational education on career decision among senior secondary school students. Three objectives were raised to guide the study. These objectives include: To review the voting process in Nigeria, to review the biometric authentication system, to investigate if the biometric systems increased the credibility of the senatorial elections in Nigeria, to investigate the challenges of the biometric technology
Conclusion
Based on the above findings pertaining to the objectives of the study the following conclusions are drawn.
The voting process in Nigeria is still highly flawed, despite the introduction of Biometric capturing and authentication. The flaws in the senatorial elections were not just caused by the failure of the gadgets used in the authentication of voters, but also caused by a deliberate attempt by corrupt politicians to rig elections to their favour.
Recommendation
It is therefore recommended from the conclusion drawn above that;
- Ad-hoc staff should be properly trained in the use of the gadgets used in voters’ authentication
- There is need to test all gadgets to ensure they are functioning properly before their use
- INEC should ensure politicians are not interfering in the voting process
- Those found to be involved in electing rigging and vote buying should be severely punished, to serve as a detriment to others who intend to do same in subsequent elections.
REFERENCES
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