Time Frame
The time period for compiling an initial list of citizens for the development of a civil registry varies
depending on the method of gathering the information. When information is gathered through a
national enumeration, the time period is similar to that for the continuous voter list (although the
civil registry gathers significantly more data and for residents of all ages, not simply those of voting
age), and is somewhat longer than that for the creation of a periodic list.
Nonetheless, time constraints are important, and many of the challenges faced with the periodic list
are found in the initial registration period. Many of these challenges can be anticipated and
addressed in the planning leading up to the implementation, which can take months and years.
The success of the implementation period depends on the success of the planning period.
When the civil registry is assembled from existing databases, there is likely to be a need to phase-in
the implementation over a period of years. The civil registry typically uses one database as the
core database, and others as supplementary. The records of live births comprise a list with a
number of desirable characteristics on which to base the civil registry. If registration of live births
is mandatory, such a list will have a high level of completeness. In many countries today, and
certainly in all of the advanced industrial democracies, such data already exist as part of the
requirement to register births. In less-developed countries, such data may be far less
comprehensive in coverage. Data on live births also can establish the parents (or at least the
mother) of the child, and can be used to determine citizenship.
When a new civil registry is established on the basis of birth records, it is easier to implement the
mandatory birth registration for births occurring after adoption of the regulation, than for births
that preceded it. For births that occurred before mandatory registration, there can be a phase-in
period during which all citizens must comply with the requirement. But, in the absence of other
unique identifying information, establishing the age and citizenship of the individuals is much more
difficult.
Anticipate Problems
No matter how detailed and comprehensive the plan of action, there will inevitably be questions,
concerns, and problems. To the extent that these can be foreseen, they can be incorporated into
the plan of action. The following questions underscore the need for a personal identifier, such as
the birth date, attached to the civil registry database.
- When using enumeration methods, are there plans to accommodate registration of the
physically disabled, those in prison, or the homeless?
- When using a registration centre, how often, if at all, must citizens present themselves at the
civil registration centre, and what staffing requirements flow from this?
- When merging data files from various registries, the most difficult problem may be in
determining the unique identity of individuals listed on various registers (taxation lists, health
insurance rolls). What happens when two similar names, but with different spellings, appear on
two records for the same address? Which of the two is deemed accurate, and how is this
determined?
Care Necessary in Compiling Registration Data
Because the development of a civil registry is largely a process of gathering, verifying, and
organising information, compiling the registration data is among the key tasks of the exercise. For
the initial registration for a civil registry, this task is of even greater importance, because the
integrity of the registry, as well as the maintenance costs and procedures required, depend on the
success of the initial registration. In many instances, the data already exist in the records of various
departments or agencies of government, and the civil registry must ensure that these data are
combined with a high degree of accuracy and integrity. Thus, it is necessary to examine closely
the procedures that will ensure validity of the data in the several registers that are used in the civil
registry. This can require establishing common protocols for data gathering and data entry for the
several departments and agencies involved in providing data to the civil registry.
The information on the civil registry normally includes the kinds of data used on other types of
voter lists (the periodic list and the continuous list), such as the voter's name, address, citizenship
status, date of birth and sex. But, the civil registry generally includes a much broader array of
data, such as more general civil, demographic, social, and economic data. Specific examples are
parents' (or mother's) names, place of birth, educational and employment history, military service,
marital data, and income and/or taxation records.
Such a broad array of data, and the exchange of these data across a number of departments or
agencies of government, raises significant issues regarding the preservation of confidentiality of
records, and the need to ensure secure storage and archiving of the data. Failure to comply with
rigid confidentiality and non-disclosure requirements undermines the integrity of the data and the
legitimacy of maintaining such comprehensive records of citizens.
Managing Registration Materials
Registration can pose a significant materials management problem. In preparing for the
development of a civil registry, planners should anticipate and conform to the specifications of the
ongoing list. For example, when the civil registry is not computerized, procedures must take into
account the need to identify eligible voters, rather than all citizens. This can involve, as in
Argentina, the use of multiple copies of registration cards, with cataloguing taking place both in the
civil registry authority and in the election authority. When the civil registry is computerized, the
software for initial data entry should be able to handle updates and should be able to be used to
identify eligible voters from a registry that contains eligible as well as non-eligible citizens.
Data Transfer
With the civil registry, data often will need to move from one department or agency to another.
When data are transferred as physical records (i.e., cards), there must be standard protocols for the
transfer, including such things as the time at which the cards are transferred (daily, weekly,
monthly), and how registry authorities will respond to lost or damaged cards, etc. When data are
transferred electronically, there is a need for protocols to confirm the accuracy and integrity of the
transfer, and as noted above, to ensure confidentiality.
Computerization
Computerization has made far more manageable the task of producing and updating a civil
registry. It is precisely in the long-term storage capability, the ease of maintenance of data
(including implementing changes and revisions), and the integration of multiple databases that
computer technology has come to play such an important role in advanced democracies and in
less-developed economies. Furthermore, of all the registration systems, the civil registry has the
most to gain from computerization, given the multiple uses and the ongoing maintenance of the
records.
