10.12. The reasonable fear that the Electoral Commission thus held, is that once an
electronic copy of the voters’ roll containing voters’ pictures is issued to the
public, the potential for decryption of that voters’ roll as to render it editable, (as
has occurred with the voters’ roll that is currently being provided), is high. Once
that voters’ roll is editable, it is possible for the information thereon to be used
for purposes other than what the voters’ roll has been issued for. This may
include identity theft and the removal or addition of names onto the voters’ roll
among other forms of manipulation of the voters’ roll.
10.13. Already the hacking of the electronic voters’ roll that the Electoral
Commission affords to the public, (as averred above), has resulted in a denting of
the credibility of the voters’ roll, (I reaffirm that the country’s voters’ roll is
indeed credible, but facts seldom trump opinion in these matters). For instance,
the July 12, 2018 edition of the NewsDay newspaper carried an article titled ‘Zec
beefs up voters’ roll’. One of the issues reported in that article were the
allegations, (already addressed herein above), that the Electoral Commission had
afforded confidential information on the voters’ roll, (cell phone numbers), to a
political party contesting the election. The allegation is false but the damage to
credibility is real and arises not from any failure by the Electoral Commission but
by acts that are extrinsic to the Electoral Commission. The article also quotes the
Minister for Information Technology and Cyber Security weighing in on the issue
of hacking of the electronic copy of the voters’ roll afforded to members of the
public in the context of a website established whereon a decrypted electronic
voters’ roll appears. For clarity, the Electoral Commission’s own database has not
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