Georgia considers biometric voter registration
Georgia is currently considering the use of biometrics voter registration for its 2014 elections.
Reported in DFwatch.com, a cross-faction group presented a proposalin parliament regarding a new biometric election system, including their recommendations for managing the republic’s voter list.
Currently, the biometric data of 750,000 citizens exist in state databases, and the current total population in the republic is nearly 4.7 million. According to the DFwatch report, the group which presented the proposal for a biometric system suggested collecting the remaining data door-to-door as well the use of public advertisements to inform citizens.
Reported in Eurasianet, biometric ID cards have previously been hotly contested in the country, as a heavy religious contingency has been spooked by the introduction of these cards. In a public service announcement about the cards from this month, the Justice Ministry explains: “the assumption that the new ID card is the seal of the Antichrist and that it contains the sign of the beast is not correct.”
According to a separate DFwatch report, religious groups in the country have requested that the document remain optional, and not mandatory for citizens.
At this point, it’s unclear which biometric system (if any) has been chosen as a part of the proposed biometric election system, though it’s likely the new system will find resistance and have issues enrolling voters, based on the country’s experience rolling out a biometric ID card.
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