Infrastructure considerations
Saint Lucia has good microwave, satellite, cable, television and Internet connections.
Equipment in unprotected areas can be subject to undesirable effects from heat, humidity and rust (because most large communities are near the sea and Saint Lucia lies in a hurricane-prone zone).
Main power is generally reliable in supply but subject to major fluctuations. For this reason voltage regulators protect the equipment. The IBM AS/400 mainframe computer is attached to an uninterrupted power source (UPS) with a one-hour electrical backup time, supported by two generators on a dedicated electrical circuit.
The PCs, dumb terminals and printers are maintained in-house but AS/400 repairs are supported from the neighbouring island of Barbados. The systems are all developed and maintained in-house. Except for back-ups, very little operator intervention is required. The infrastructure required to support and maintain our current and proposed equipment and systems is therefore quite good.
Technology acquisition
The decision to acquire our current equipment was made by a Steering Committee of four set up for that purpose. This Committee was given clear terms of reference and a three month deadline to produce reports on tenders received and a recommendation on the preferred equipment. Three possible suppliers were invited to tender and after extensive demonstrations and questioning one was recommended.
The choice of the IBM AS/400 system was determined by a number of factors:
a) It was clearly the most advanced mainframe of the three, since it was the only one whose architecture was specifically designed to support a relational database.
b) It was the only machine whose combination of vertical and horizontal machine interfaces ensured that it would not become obsolete for a very long time. That is, these interfaces render the underlying hardware of the AS/400 transparent to the user.
c) The operating system (OS/400) is sufficiently complex to obviate the need for Systems Programmers or highly trained operators.
d) The logical layout of the OS and the programming tools supplied made it easier to concentrate on WHAT to do rather than HOW to do it.
e) The system has excellent and easily implemented security features at various levels—from physical workstation location down through object and field levels.
f) The system compels object-oriented programming.
g) Many large organisations (such as General Motors, Citibank, etc.) have spent huge amounts of money to switch to this system and even Microsoft uses it to run its business.
Saint Lucia is forced to purchase their own hardware because there are no bureau services within the country. For security reasons, this would have been the case even if there where any bureau services. A policy of developing software in-house was adopted because this meant that trained people with a thorough understanding of the systems would easily be available. Also, this meant that it was possible to get an exact fit for the needs at that time and to maintain that fit as the requirements change. The transfer of technology this entails, as opposed to the "no-brainer" of merely running a package was also a factor in this decision.
The communications systems are direct twin-ax cabling and leased lines. The direct cabling is a feature of the specific machine and leased lines, rather than dial-up, were chosen for security and availability considerations. PCs are used for Internets, email, etc., and an IBM product, Client Access, is used to connect PC Local Area Networks to the AS/400 via direct twin axial cabling.
Minimizing the risks in using technology
The mainframe is housed in a special computer room within the computer centre. There are numbered keypads for access to both the computer centre and the computer room within it. These codes are regularly changed. A security guard is also posted at the entrance to the building. Physical security of workstations located at user sites other than in the computer centre is the responsibility of the various users.
Access to data is limited in several ways:
a) All classes of users can only sign in at their specific physical locations.
b) Passwords are required for all users and the system forces password changes on a regular (though variable) basis.
c) Upon signing-on, users get menus enabling them to perform certain tasks and some tasks are restricted to certain users. Users may not exit these menus.
d) All major objects (files, data areas, programs, etc.) on the system are accessed according to the users specific level of authorization to each object. These levels are read only, read/write, update and delete. While data entry and validation are on-line, all master file updates are run in batch after a log of the additions, changes (before and after images) and deletions has been produced for scrutiny by a supervisor.
e) Each individual command or program call indirectly issued by each user is monitored in that users job log.
The software code is contained in files and is secured in much way the same way as data. The AS/400 does not lend itself to infection by viruses, and all PC used in our Local Area Networks are protected by North and Macaffee anti/virus software. The reliability of registration data is clearly crucial. This data is mainly collected from birth certificates and certification by Justices of the Peace in the area in which the potential voter resides.
From time to time voter location checks are carried out and the names of voters who cannot be located are published in the press. This system is fairly reliable but the absence of a direct link with the Registry of Births and Deaths is a major existing deficiency. There is clearly a need for some sort of permanent identification number that will follow each person from birth to death. This number should not be meaningless (as the voter registration number now is) but should be based on date-of-birth, sex and any other relevant factors. Apart from its usefulness for voter registration maintenance, this number can be used throughout Saint Lucia for National Insurance, Drivers Licences, etc.
The SAVCHGOBJ (save changed objects) command is used to perform daily backups of all changed objects in the system. This is done on a grandfather, father, and son basis. In other words, one set of tapes are used to backup changed objects on Monday, a second (different) set on Tuesday and yet a third set on Wednesday. The Monday tapes are used again on Thursday and so on. In addition, monthly saves of the entire system are carried out. The system is not available if the AS/400 is down but, since this machine is so reliable (it has only been down once in nine years), this is not a major concern. However, it may be useful to create a simple data entry system on a PC to allow unvalidated data entry to proceed if the system is down. This data can then be uploaded and validated in batch when the system comes back up. There are plans to implement mirroring on the new AS/400 Model 170. The RAID (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks) technology used by this model clearly lends itself to this approach.
The AS/400 hardware has its own diagnostics that warn of hardware problems both predicted and actual. It also provides the ANZPRB (Analyze Problem) procedure, which greatly facilitates dealing with any problems that may arise. This procedure takes a user step-by step through the process of identifying the problems, ascertaining their probable cause and taking the steps required to correct them. In addition, the System Arbiter, in combination with the Performance Tools package, continuously tunes the system by dynamically allocating storage, maximum activity, wait states, job time slice, etc. The problems that have arisen in the past have almost always been with third-party peripherals but the core system has been exceptionally reliable—even though it is never shut down.
Monitoring of and reporting on system communications is automatic. Because of the basically non-numeric nature of electoral data, only simple totals and changes to these totals can be directly tested by computer staff. The users carry out more comprehensive testing on a random basis.
The hardware is insured but there is no insurance against contingency loss.
The various political parties, and indeed the public at large, appear quite comfortable with the level of accuracy of the voters lists so public assurance measures are not an issue at the moment. All the information currently held in the Voter Registration System is essentially in the public domain, so the issue of privacy does not arise.
Using technology for voter registration
The Voter Registration System is used for recording eligibility for voting, prevention of impersonation, and planning for polling. The voter registration qualifications are uniform throughout the state. All voters must be registered and must be in possession of a Voter ID card. This is a laminated card carrying the following information: name; date of birth; nationality; address; sex; height; voter registration number; national insurance number; date of birth; date of registration; distinguishing marks (if any); and a colour photograph of the voter.
The Electoral Commission fixes a cut-off date for registration before each election. The information on the card (except the photo) is entered into the electoral register kept on a central AS/400 computer. Certain other information not appearing on the card is also collected and entered including occupation, constituency and polling district.
The computer system allows authorized persons to enter, change and delete information from the electoral register but keeps a record of the date and time of any changes and the user profile name of the person involved. The system produces lists of voters in alphabetical order within a polling district in the constituency. A similar list in registration number order is also produced. From time to time the electoral office carries out an ID confirmation exercise and publishes lists of people who are on the electoral register but cannot be located by the enumerators for their district. These people then have ninety days to present themselves to the enumerator to confirm their existence. Failing this, they are deleted from the register. Deletion does not involve the actual removal of the voter record from the computer system but merely means that the record is marked as deleted.
On Election Day, the voter registration lists are used by the polling clerks and the agents representing the various candidates, in conjunction with the ID cards, to determine voter eligibility. The ID cards, while required, do not by themselves necessarily confer the right to vote.
