Systems and Procedures - Jamaica
Our Registration and electoral process
Continuous Registration
Continuous Registration is the process whereby the Voters’ List is continually maintained by adding the names of eligible voters as well as deleting the names of those who no longer meet eligibility requirements e.g. the dead.
This means there is no need to automatically conduct a full enumeration/registration as was the case in previous years. A voters’ list is now produced and published every six months, May 31 and November 30, with the necessary additions and deletions. There is a cut off date for registration which is two months before the publication of the voter’s list.
Requirements for Registration
Persons who are eighteen (18) years and over and who are not subject to any legal incapacity are able to get registered. Persons not eligible to be registered are convicted persons detained in pursuance of their sentences, persons on suspended sentences, persons certified as insane and lunatics as well as persons detained as criminal lunatics.
How to Register
Visit your Constituency Office Monday - Thursday 8:30am – 4:30pm & Friday 8:30am - 3:30pm. It is suggested that you bring the following:
- Proof of Age
- Proof of Residence
You will be visited at your home for residence verification shortly after your visit to the office.
Two of the major problems which have plagued the Electoral process for many years are:
(1) Multiple Registration
(2) Difficulty in verifying the true identity of electors to permit voting.
In the Enumeration Exercise two types of impression are used in collecting fingerprints:
(1) Rolled impressions
(2) Flat impressions
Rolled impressions involve the rolling of the finger from one side to the next and are now taken individually from the Index Finger and Middle Finger of each hand. Flat impressions are taken by simultaneously fingerprinting all of the fingers on each hand and thumb without rolling.
Use of Fingerprints In The Elector Registration System
During the enumeration exercise the elector's fingerprints are now used in the creation and storage of unique records. To detect and eliminate duplicates, the records for each individual's fingers are now compared/matched against those of all other persons enumerated. Persons with prints not matching anyone's are placed on the Voters List. This ensures that each person who applies is listed only once.
The Elector Registration System generates an Identification Card for each person on the Voters List. This card contains the unique records created for that person. Electors registered during continuous enumeration should visit a fixed registration centre to collect their I.D. card. Their live fingerprint will be compared to the system database. This will verify identity before the card is delivered.