Actual Election
Election IT Systems
THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEM SUPPORTING THE ELECTIONS
IT support for the year 2010 election of Members of Parliament
In Hungary, IT systems for general elections have – since 1989 – covered the entire process of election events, starting from the setting up of districts and compiling electoral rolls through to determining the final legal result.
IT support for the year 2010 election of Members of Parliament was developed by building on the traditions of previous elections’ IT support. For the most part, election support systems use the existing infrastructure, including the document offices’ network, the registrar’s specialist system and the equipment pool of the Central Office for Administrative and Electronic Public Services (COAEPS).
The simultaneous utilisation of the document office and the registrar infrastructure makes it possible for every local election office to participate in the IT-based processing of election data during the conducting of elections.
Regional election offices perform their supervisory, data entry and validation related scope of tasks by means of mainly using the infrastructure of regional administration offices and their branch offices.
Several systems operate parallel with and supplementing one another in the areas that enjoy IT systems facilitating the election procedure, in the interest of guaranteeing that information provision, governance, as well as other special needs are met.
Core IT systems providing support to the election of Members of Parliament
Integrated Election Services System
The Integrated Election Services System, which was created according to standard principles, is a complex system that has a shared database and data set, and is comprised of modules that are built up in an integrated manner, for supporting the following election tasks:
- group of tasks associated with compiling electoral rolls (setting up districts, compiling the initial electoral roll and notification pool, keeping electoral rolls up to date, closing electoral rolls and generating electoral district copies thereof, issuing certificates, managing foreign representation electoral rolls)
- group of tasks associated with preparations for the election of Members of Parliament (entry of parties, candidates, lists in the register, validation of candidate proposals, transfer of information necessary for producing ballot-papers and carrying out logistics tasks, managing electoral districts’ information)
- generation and proofing of ballot-papers,
- tasks to be completed on the days when the rounds of the election of Members of Parliament are held until voting is finished (monitoring turnout rates and extraordinary incidents)
- operative management for ballot counting at the election of Members of Parliament by means of a management information system (MIS),
- automated determination of preliminary vote tallying and of the preliminary results in both rounds,
- providing support for determining the outcome of the first and second rounds, as well as the final official (legal) results of elections, and publishing these over a web-based information interface,
- data provision (CD, file transfer to the media and those interested, flash reports, etc.),
- signalling the likelihood of election fraud,
- transfer of results to the election history database.
Internet Information System
The National Election Office’s information provision documents that go out to the internet exclusively contain politics and party neutral information. The Information System is available in Hungarian, as well as in English, although with limited content.
The Internet Information System ensures the provision of information to the public at large, election specialist corps, parties, and the media during the preparation and conducting of the election of Members of Parliament.
On the day before and after the election, this system is available for anyone from Hungary and abroad interested to see it in person, as well as for the representatives of the press and the parties, at the National Election Centre, in addition to which the screen projection of the internet/intranet information system also assists information provision.
The Information System provides for displaying election results in electoral district depth.
A version made accessible for the blind also operates with limited content at the internet site.
Election Administration System
The Election Administration System serves to carry out and organise administrative tasks associated with the elections. The foremost objective of this system is to operate an IT communications channel among national, regional, as well as local election bodies. This channel offers electronic messaging capability, as well as a forum to those who are registered, which allows for requesting and providing assistance by topic area.
The system can be accessed by every local election office through leveraging today’s cutting edge IT assets, as well as the opportunity that lies in the document office and registrar network. Only duly authorised computers and users are able to log in to and use the system’s closed loop network.
The system furthermore operates as a database that contains election offices’ data, sorted in a geographical region system.
Finance and Logistics System
The Finance and Logistics System has the task of providing appropriate IT applications and associated services for the efficient support of the financial, accounting, and logistics work of agencies engaging in the activities that is associated with elections. It supports the following things on the basis of special budgetary (legal) regulations that regulate how election tasks are conducted:
- budgeting and planning purchases and cash equivalents;
- regulating financial and logistics (organisation) processes;
- completing activities on deadline in a professionally sound manner that enjoys IT support;
- the coordinated work of bodies and specialists participating in execution.
Last modify: 2010.03.18.
