Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation
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Technical Cooperation

Implemented Projects

DECO has implemented technical cooperation projects in several countries and subjects. These include those related to electoral registration and electoral technology. The following summarizes some of the major projects developed, as well as the studies and seminars coordinated by the Technical Cooperation Section.

  • A. Electoral Registry
  • DECO assists the electoral authorities of the region to have reliable electoral registries through audits and projects that support voter registration.

    Through double-track audits of electoral registries, a diagnosis of the components and processes involved in the quality of the list of voters is made. This allows the formulation and implementation of effective strategies aimed at depurating and updating data contained in the electoral registry.

    Voter registration is one of the most important tasks of the electoral administration and is an integral part of any electoral process. A reliable electoral registry (list of voters) is essential for democratic elections. Voter registration must be inclusive, ensuring that those who have the right to vote may do so on Election Day. At the same time, it should prevent people who do not have the right to cast their vote from doing so.

    Assessment of the processes of conformation, control, integrity, audibility and publicity of the National Electoral Registry and the electoral roll of Argentina

    Duration: April 2015
    Counterpart:  National Electoral Chamber of Argentina
    Donor:  Canada
    DECO assisted with providing technical recommendations to the National Electoral Chamber of Argentina in its efforts to strengthen the different processes for the formation of the electoral registry and the harmonization of the working procedures with the provinces.


    Diagnosis of the processes and procedures of depuration and conformation of the biometric electoral roll of Bolivia

    Duration:
     December 2014 to February 2015
    Counterpart:  Plurinational Electoral Body of Bolivia
    Donor:  Canada
    DECO provided technical cooperation to evaluate the processes and procedures of depuration and conformation of the biometric electoral roll ahead of the March 2015 elections. The project included an analysis of the current legislation, databases and information technology security of the electoral management body.


    Verification and indexation of registration forms of the electoral roll of Guatemala

    Duration: March to May 2014
    Counterpart:  Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Guatemala
    Donor:  Canada
    The objective of the project was to coordinate the implementation of the verification processes of the records or enrollment ballots registration and indexation. This in order to formulate and implement effective strategies aimed at the purification and updating of the data contained in the electoral roll.


    Verification of the implementation of recommendations for improvement made by the OAS to the TSE during the audit of the El Salvador electoral roll

    Duration: October to December 2013
    Counterpart:  Supreme Electoral Tribunal of El Salvador
    Donor:  Spain
    The OAS carried out a verification of the implementation of the recommendations from the audit to the El Salvador electoral roll in 2007. A report was issued to the TSE indicating the status of implementation of these recommendations as well as a list of opportunities detected during verification.


    Evaluation and verification of the Grenada voter registration system

    Duration: January to February 2013
    Counterpart:  Grenada Parliamentary Electoral Office
    Donor:  Canada
    A team of experts conducted an assessment of the legal, technical, and procedural factors associated with the Grenada voter registration. The technical team also carried out a house-to-house statistical study throughout Grenada and the island of Carriacou in order to assess the scope of the electoral list. Once the project was completed, a report was submitted to the electoral authority.


    Comprehensive audit of the electoral roll of the Dominican Republic 

    Duration: February to April 2012
    Counterpart:  Central Electoral Board of the Dominican Republic
    Donor:  United States, Dominican Republic and Italy 
    An analysis of the processes and procedures that integrate the elaboration of the electoral roll in order to assess its quality was done. It was possible to identify areas of registration and procedures subject to improvement. The audit included verification of the processes and security of the computing center in preparation for the presidential election of May 20, 2012. At the culmination of the project, a report was issued with a series of short-, long- and medium-term recommendations to assist the Central Electoral Board in the improvement of its management.



    Audit of the electoral roll of Paraguay 

    Duration: April to July 2010
    Counterpart:  Superior Court of Electoral Justice of Paraguay
    Donor:  Canada and the United States
    DECO provided advice to the Superior Court of Electoral Justice in the implementation of a double-track integral audit of the electoral roll, which allowed for an analysis of the processes and procedures that integrate the voter registry in order to determine its quality. Based on this audit, it was possible to identify areas of registration and procedures subject to improvement. At the culmination of the project, a report with a series of short-, long- and medium-term recommendations was submitted to assist the Tribunal in improving its management.


    Audit of the electoral registry of Guatemala 

    Duration: August to October 2010
    Counterpart:  Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Guatemala
    Donor:  Canada
    DECO performed a two-way integral audit of the electoral roll in Guatemala in which an analysis of the processes and procedures that integrate the voter registry was included in order to determine its quality. Based on this audit, it was possible to identify areas of registration and procedures subject to improvement. At the culmination of the project, a report with a series of short-, long- and medium-term recommendations was submitted to assist the Tribunal in improving its management.


    Voter re-registration process for the general elections in Bolivia in December 2009 

    Duration: June to December 2009
    Counterpart:  National Electoral Court of Bolivia
    Donor:  Brazil, Canada and the United States
    During the process of biometric voter re-registration in Bolivia, the OAS provided support to different areas of the National Electoral Court, which included electoral organization, computer security, electoral logistics, computer and data transmission, and electoral legislation. Following the elaboration of the new electoral roll, made with DECO assistance, Bolivia successfully faced the 2009 and 2010 elections, and increased voter turnout by rising from 3,600,000 to 5,200,000 voters.


    Comprehensive audit of Bolivia's electoral roll 

    Duration: November to December 2008
    Counterpart:  National Electoral Court of Bolivia
    Donor:  Brazil, Canada and the United States
    The OAS conducted a two-way comprehensive audit of the electoral roll in Bolivia, in which an analysis of the processes and procedures that integrate the voter registry was included in order to determine its quality. Based on this audit, it was possible to identify areas of registration and procedures subject to improvement. At the culmination of the project, a report containing a series of short-, long- and medium-term recommendations was presented to support the National Electoral Court in improving its management.


    Audit of the El Salvador electoral roll and implementation of the recommendations of the audit report

    Duration: September 2007 to September 2008
    Counterpart:  Supreme Electoral Tribunal of El Salvador 
    Donor:  Supreme Electoral Tribunal
    DECO provided support to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal by conducting an audit of the electoral roll of El Salvador, as well as implementing some recommendations contained in the audit report. One of these recommendations was aimed at establishing mechanisms that would allow political parties to have access to the electoral registry. The result was that, for the first time in their history, political parties were granted access to the electoral roll, which increased the transparency and credibility of the electoral authority.



  • B. Electoral Technology
  • DECO provides assistance to electoral authorities in the design, support and analysis of computer systems and processes. In addition, it provides advice in the development of voting calculation, transmission, presentation and publication of election results, and audits of transmission systems.


    Support to the Electronic Voting Security Process by Internet Mexico City, Mexico

    Duration: August 2015
    Counterpart: Electoral Institute of the Federal District of Mexico (IEDF)
    Donors: Electoral Institute of the Federal District of Mexico (IEDF)
    DECO assisted the evaluation process of voting on the Internet, participated in the orientation on technical and procedural aspects and presented observations regarding the employment of the Electronic Internet System (SEI), which was applied on August 31, 2015.


    Technical cooperation in improving the performance of relevant actors in technical and professional activities related to the Transmission of Preliminary Election Results (TREP) in Uruguay

    Duration: February to October 2014 
    Counterpart:  Electoral Court of Uruguay
    Donor:  Canada
    DECO deployed a mission to support the Uruguayan Electoral Court in order to provide cooperation within the framework of the project "Improving the performance of relevant actors in the technical and professional activities related to the Transmission of Preliminary Election Results (TREP)." Through this project, a process of planning, verification and control of the transmission system was initiated, and training programs for electoral personnel were organized in order to ensure the safety, reliability and transparency of information and computer programs, and the effective operation of computer equipment, communications and programs.


    Electronic vote: Applied technologies and the first electronic voting pilot trial implemented abroad in the presidential elections in Costa Rica on February 2, 2014

    Duration: July 2013 to February 2014
    Counterpart:  Supreme Court of Elections of Costa Rica
    Donor:  Canada 
    DECO provided technical support on the use of electoral technologies, specifically in electronic voting, which included an analysis of the current regulatory framework, the transparency measures adopted, the internal management of the electronic ballot box, the audits contemplated, technical security of the ballot box, and the socialization of electronic voting in which the training of the various actors involved is analyzed.


    Electronic vote: Support to the High Level Technical Commission on Electronic Voting in Honduras

    Duration: April to May 2013
    Counterpart:  Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Honduras
    Donor:  Canada
    DECO made an initial diagnosis of the proposal to modernize the Honduran electoral system through the use of technological tools, which included the potential benefits of electronic voting. Certain limitations were noted for its possible implementation in the short term and concrete recommendations for implementation were formulated.


    Support to the implementation of a System of Transmission of Preliminary Electoral Results in Paraguay

    Duration: December 2012 to April 2013
    Counterpart:  Superior Court of Electoral Justice
    Donor:  Canada
    DECO and the Central Electoral Board of the Dominican Republic, in a horizontal cooperation scheme, provided support for the implementation of an Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) system in the transmission of a preliminary electoral results scheme for the general elections of 2013.


    Technical cooperation with the electronic system for electronic voting reception through an electronic ballot box in the State of Jalisco, Mexico       

    Duration: June to July 2012
    Counterpart: The Electoral and Citizen Participation Institute of Jalisco
    Donor: The Electoral and Citizen Participation Institute of Jalisco
    DECO deployed a mission during the local elections held on July 1, 2012 in Jalisco, Mexico, in order to provide external technical support in the implementation and use of electronic ballot boxes. Cooperation included the analysis of speed of results management, voting operations (identification, issuing of votes and scrutiny) in a strict sense, training of various actors and citizens, and the efficiency of the process.


    Support to the process of auditing and certification of the electronic voting solution in Peru 

    Duration: June 2010 to December 2011 
    Counterpart:  National Office of Electoral Processes of Peru
    Donor:  Canada
    DECO provided technical support to the National Office of Electoral Processes of Peru in order to audit and certify the electronic voting system. The technical cooperation consisted in coordinating and supporting the auditing and certification process of the electronic voting system through the promotion and exchange of knowledge between the ONPE and electoral authorities of the region with experience in electronic voting systems.


  • C. Others

  • Guatemala's Electoral Security Diagnosis

    Duration: June to July 2015
    Counterpart:  Supreme Electoral Tribunal of Guatemala
    Donor:  Canada
    DECO provided advice in the assessment of conditions of electoral security for the general elections of September 2015. From the diagnosis, a set of recommendations were issued to mitigate the potential negative effects of violence in elections.


  • D. Studies and Seminars

  • Study of technologies applied to the electoral cycle

    Duration: February 2014 to December 2015
    Donor:  Canada 
    DECO conducted a study that gathers, systematizes and analyzes the various electoral automation projects carried out in the Americas and other countries. The research identifies the main technological trends used in the different phases and activities of the electoral cycle. The presentation of different models is useful for other countries in the incorporation of new technologies trying to adapt to their realities the good practices of other electoral bodies.


    International Seminar: Comparative experiences in the implementation of electronic voting

    Date: October 22 and 23, 2013
    Location: Lima, Peru
    The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States and the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) organized the seminar "Comparative Experiences in the Implementation of Electronic Vote". This initiative sought to encourage the exchange and transfer of lessons learned in the implementation of these systems in the Americas and Europe. Issues related to information technologies, in particular electronic voting in the Americas and the world, were addressed in order to learn implementation experiences, standards, as well as the security and confidentiality that are incorporated by current systems.


    Department of Electoral Cooperation and Observation

    1889 F St., N.W.
    Washington, D.C., 20006
    E-mail: deco@oas.org
    Phone: (202) 370-4526
    Fax: (202) 458-6250