Electoral Reform Secretariat
Church Street
Basseterre
St. Kitts


BIOMETRIC IDENTIFICATION CARDS A SOURCE OF CONCERN FOR SOME; HOPE FOR OTHERS

St. Croix, USVI (September 15, 2006): The Electoral Reform Consultative Committee (ERCC) garnered insight into the voter identification system of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) tonight at Gertrude’s Restaurant, where St. Kitts and Nevis Nationals made recommendations on electoral reform.

This came when ERCC Chairman Elvis Newton asked if some form of identification is needed for voting in the USVI. “Do you have a voter card?,” Chairman Newton added.

“You can’t vote without that,” a lady replied. “You can’t vote without it,” affirmed another lady.

“What are the features on it?,” Mr. Newton inquired, because the need for a voter identification card has been highly discussed in the public consultations, which began on Monday, September 4. A major point of discussion has been whether to endow a voter identification card with biometric features, such as a fingerprint. Other suggestions have been that full names be placed on the card, as well as a photograph, the elector’s address, date of birth, signature, and social security number. There is also the suggestion that the card should be machine readable, which means capable of being read by a computer.

Some argue that endowing a voter identification card with biometric data would provide an airtight safeguard against voting fraud, while others point out that such an identity card would infringe on people’s civil liberties and create a “Big Brother” database, encouraging the misuse of governmental power.

“I have mine right here,” said the lady who spoke first, rustling up the voter identification card from her hand bag. The Press Officer for the St. Kitts and Nevis Electoral Reform Secretariat, Valencia Grant, took the lady’s card and gave it to ERCC member Mutryce Williams, who was sitting at one end of the head table.

Ms. Williams examined the voter identification card then passed it to Chairman Newton to the right of her. He gave it to ERCC member Clement “Bouncin” Williams to the right of him, then it moved to ERCC members Douglas Wattley and Clive Bacchus. [ERCC members Elvin Bailey and Clifford Thomas are not part of the ERCC delegation to the USVI. Mr. Williams joined the USVI team although he was not scheduled to. Mr. Bailey, Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Williams were scheduled to visit the United Kingdom this weekend, but their trip was postponed.]

In the top left corner of the voter identification card, they saw the lady’s photograph. Just below her picture was the text “Supervisor of Elections” and the Supervisor’s signature was written above those words and on the photograph itself. The heading of the card read “Election System of the Virgin Islands I.D.”. Below that was “Name of the Elector” written in full with her two middle names. “Address of Elector” followed, then “Party”, which was listed as “Democrat”; “Place of Birth” listed as “St. Kitts”; “Birth Date”; “Polling District” listed as “STX-5"; “Election District” listed as “St. Croix”; a five-digit serial number, a social security number, and at the bottom of the card was her signature indicated by the text “Signature of Elector”.

At the back of the card was the heading “NAT. CERT.”, which was followed by an eight-digit number. Below that came, “Proof of Citizenship: The Above Mentioned Elector has been registered and enrolled this Day 17th of November 1998.” Below that was the text “Registrar of Board Member Signature” and the Member’s signature was written above those words.

Law requires that a voters’ I.D. be issued in the USVI. The first I.D. card issued to an elector is free. An I.D. card to replace a lost one costs $25. There is no expiration date. [The card is valid as long as the elector is an active registered voter. Electors’ registration will be cancelled if they have not voted at the last two general elections.] There is also no fingerprint on the voter identification card.

It is interesting that - as Electoral Reform Consultative Committee (ERCC) member Mr. Wattley pointed out on Monday after the British Virgin Islands (BVI) consultations - the majority of Nationals abroad voice support for a fingerprint to be placed on a voter identification card whereas the majority opinion in the public consultations in St. Kitts and Nevis is that a fingerprint should not be used.


A Brief Background on Biometric National Identity Cards By Country:

A national identity card is a card that someone is required or encouraged to present to confirm his or her identity because of its digitally-embedded information.

Canada:
A national survey of Canadians by SES Canada Research Inc. between May 13 and May 23, 2003 found that 51% would support a national identification card, according to a media release by the polling firm. Several years ago in Canada, Immigration Minister Denis Coderre said, “Let’s have a national debate for policy-making purposes. Do Canadian people feel that we should have a national I.D. card?” This sparked a national debate over biometric identification cards. In September 2003, nearly a year after Coderre made his entreaty, Interim Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Robert Marleau said the $3 billion to $5 billion cost could be better invested in other security measures. Mr. Coderre said that cabinet would decide in a few months whether to pursue the idea. The issue was still pending when Prime Minister Paul Martin called an election for June 28, 2004, and Mr. Coderre was dropped from the cabinet afterwards. Talk of the issue soon died down. In February 2006, the new federal minister of public safety, Stockwell Day, suggested in an interview with The Canadian Press that a national I.D. card is likely forthcoming for Canadians.


The United Kingdom:
In the United Kingdom, a Market & Opinion Research International (MORI) Poll of 1,000 people aged 16 and older between March 18 and March 23, 2004 found that eight in 10 (80%) of the adult British population favoured national identity cards, and 83% said they would be happy to carry the card all the time. The Queen announced on May 17, 2005 the decision of the Home Office [the government department responsible for national security, the justice system, and immigration] to introduce a National Identity Scheme for people over the age of 16 and people whose residency in the UK has lasted at least three months. The Identity Cards Act received royal assent and became law on March 30, 2006. The Home Office says it expects to start issuing I.D. cards from between 2008 and 2009. It has announced that although the exact format of the card is yet to be determined, features will include the holder’s photograph and a computer chip with basic personal information.

United States:
A Harris Poll of 1,015 adults in the United States between June 7 and June 12, 2005 found six in 10 (61%) favoured “adoption of a national I.D. system for all U.S. citizens”, down from 68% in September 2001. President George W. Bush has in the past stated his opposition due to privacy concerns. But in May 2006, the U.S. President, in his speech on comprehensive immigration reform, said, “A key part of that system [to verify documents and work eligibility] should be a new identification card for every legal foreign worker. This card should use biometric technology, such as digital fingerprints, to make it tamper-proof. A tamper-proof card would help us enforce the law, and leave employers with no excuse for violating it.”

Haiti:
To facilitate a free and fair election in Haiti on February 7, 2006, the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) awarded Digimarc Corporation a contract with an estimated value of $1.5 million [according to a Digimarc Press Release] to supply the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) of Haiti with four million secure voter identification cards. A Digimarc case study of the Haiti Voter ID Card indicates that the card enables citizens to establish their identity to access government and commercial services. The voter I.D. card includes a digital photograph and digital fingerprint information, an address, and a signature. Security features include micro-printing [tiny letters or numbers incorporated into the design], ultraviolet ink, and Guilloche security design [defined as ornamental patterns formed by the interlacing of curved bands to repeat a circular design]. Albert R. Ramdin, Assistant Secretary General of the OAS, reported to the Permanent Council that, “This was the first time in Haiti that 3.5 million people were registered for anything. Many Haitian citizens who never had a birth certificate now are proud holders of their cards with photo and fingerprints. Before that 600,000 persons had no means of identification. Now many citizens can identify themselves, thanks to the OAS. Haitians will always remember this.”




Contact: Valencia Grant (869-762-6177)