Providing 2.3 million citizens with fraud-proof identification cards for casting electoral votes.
Done.
Costa Rica’s Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE) and Unisys partnered to develop and implement a state-of-the-art biometric-based system to produce secure, tamper-resistant ID cards quickly and cost effectively.
Breakthrough: Streamlined Voter Registration, Eliminated Fraud
TSE has virtually eliminated fraud with citizen identification cards that incorporate electronic images and biometric information.
Secure Business Operation
Citizen identification and voter registration
Innovation Metrics
TSE has drastically reduced the processing time for issuing ID cards — what once took as long as 40 days is now immediate.
Focusing on efficiency.
In Costa Rica, all citizens over the age of 18 must be registered to vote, and all who are, receive TSE-issued photo ID cards as a virtually universal form of identification. Traditionally, issuing such cards was a time-consuming, error-prone process with significant risk for fraud. TSE employees at registration centers nationwide would photograph each citizen, collect a signature and seal the photo and signature in a plastic ID card — a process which often took as long as 40 days. Now it is immediate.
Distributing voter records during elections was also tedious, with TSE packaging all the ID cards and voter records and for distribution to the appropriate districts for identification validation. After elections, the materials were manually returned to TSE, with documents potentially disorganized, damaged or missing.
TSE Executive Director Fernando Viquez remarks on the process of issuing cards: “It took too long — it could take a month or more to get ID cards to citizens. We wanted a system that would allow us to produce and distribute ID cards faster, and that would make the cards more secure.”
To meet these goals, TSE engaged long-time partner Unisys. “We have been doing business with Unisys for some time,” says Viquez. “They have provided us with election support in the past, and they were the only bidder that demonstrated their ability to address all of our issues.”
Unisys embarked on a two-phased plan: first, to digitize all existing voter ID photos and second, to issue new, tamper-proof ID cards after ensuring only one document and one record existed for each citizen — accomplished using an automated fingerprint identification system to search applicants against a database.
Transforming voter registration.
In 1997, TSE began transitioning all of Costa Rica’s registered voters to the new system, with Unisys responsible for transforming photographs of Costa Rica’s two million citizens into electronic images to be stored on TSE’s computer system.
“Unisys did a very good job,” says Viquez, “completing the first phase in less time than we expected.” It took only three months for Unisys to digitize the 25 years’ worth of photo IDs, enabling the TSE to then print voting books for each of Costa Rica’s 429 electoral districts in time for the upcoming presidential election.
“Now,” explains Viquez, “we send a register with voter pictures that are the same as their ID pictures—without having to send the actual IDs themselves.” This has eliminated the problem of lost ID cards and the subsequent need to produce new ones.
In the second phase of the project, TSE is electronically capturing each voter’s fingerprints and signature to produce tamper-proof ID cards. With the capacity to issue as many as 4,000 new ID cards per day, TSE has done so with 1.8 million citizens — more than 65% of the voting population.
Eliminating fraud.
Costa Rica’s new ID cards are not just for voting. As Viquez says, “Our citizens use the ID card for virtually everything, from obtaining driver’s licenses and passports to banking and paying their taxes.”
“Everyone is very happy with these new cards,” he continues. “They are much more secure than the old IDs. Instead of a picture with a plastic covering that can easily be removed for fraudulent purposes, the cards now include the person’s picture, signature, two fingerprints and a bar code containing all the minutiae associated with the fingerprints.”
Such electronic information also ensures that there are no duplicate cards issued. When a citizen enrolls to obtain a new card, TSE can check that person’s live fingerprint against the database containing all the existing images and records — achieving the philosophy of “one citizen, one card, one vote.”
Beyond eliminating fraud, the new cards are streamlining citizen service. Not only do citizens receive IDs more quickly, those who use them to obtain any service — such as obtaining a driver’s license, getting medical treatment or banking — are getting through the process much more quickly.
“With the minutiae all contained in the bar code,” explains Viquez, “service providers do not have to ask people for information such as their age or address. Lines for service are shorter, so people get what they need much faster.”
At A Glance:
Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE), Costa Rica
Reports to
Independent. Magistrates appointed by Supreme Court.
Mission
Preserving the integrity of the voting system.
Objective
Making sure photo ID cards are secure and accurate with immediate citizen availability.
Results
Eliminated fraud. Decreased cost. Streamlined registration.
Population served
4 million; registered voters 2.3 million
About Unisys in the Public Sector
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