Caracas, Venezuela
In the wake of one of the closest and most important elections in Venezuelan history, Smartmatic announced that its voting solution, the Smartmatic Automated Election System (SAES), performed with complete reliability and accuracy. During the referendum, the SAES machines transmitted accurately, rapidly and reliably, and after the polls closed, the Venezuelan Electoral Council and representatives of the different political parties successfully audited 54% of the voting machines.
"In one of the most critical and closest elections in our history, Venezuelans have peacefully accepted a razor thin margin of victory, and at Smartmatic, we believe this consensus would have been impossible without our trusted voting solution," said Antonio Mugica, Chief Executive Officer, Smartmatic.
In the extremely close Referendum, voters rejected 69 amendments to the Venezuelan Constitution by a margin of less than 1.5%. Key electoral statistics include:
-- Automated voting centers: 10,547 (95.8%)
-- Voting machines used: 32,939
-- Registered Voters: 16,049,654
-- Time to Cast Vote: Less than 30 seconds
Used in Venezuela since 2004, Smartmatic's SAES electronic voting technology is the most secure, accurate and reliable system in the world. The SAES system randomly stores and encrypts votes in seven different places, guaranteeing 100% security and auditability of the voting process. In addition, all Smartmatic voting systems are equipped with a voter verified paper trail (VVPT) printed on security-enhanced paper as soon as each vote is cast. This ballot "receipt" shows the vote the machine has just recorded and allows the voter to verify that their vote was recorded correctly. It also serves as a physical backup in the event of an audit.
"In light of the Referendum's results, it is time for the cloud over Venezuelan democracy to lift and for the world to recognize once and for all that our elections meet the highest standards of fairness, accuracy and transparency," added Antonio Mugica.
About Smartmatic (www.smartmatic.com)
Smartmatic is a multinational company specializing in the design and deployment of high-security and high-connectivity solutions. Its automated voting products are the most secure, reliable and auditable voting systems in the world.
Smartmatic is the world leader in auditable election technology, and has successfully collected and tabulated more than 50 million auditable votes in multiple elections. Smartmatic has sold and deployed its automated election systems in Venezuela, Netherlands Antilles, in the US, through Sequoia Voting Systems, and it is currently in the process of launching a number of election projects in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe.
Smartmatic has offices in the US, Mexico, Spain, Venezuela, Barbados, Philippines and Taiwan.
Source: Business Wire (Business Wire India)