LESSONS ON THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN ELECTIONS contributed to the quality and timely performance of the audit of IEBC servers and logs in the recent Kenyan 2022 presidential election process. 10 What is Election Technology and its Role in Elections? Election technology is broadly defined as the information and communication technologies (ICT) used in the planning, management, and conduct of elections. The use of election technology 11 includes the digitization of information, including text, pictures, or sound; the digital data stored in a computer system; and the processing of the information, such as the biometric matching algorithms that are used to identify duplicate voter registrations. Increasingly, technology is used to supplement or otherwise augment various parts of the election process, such as voter registration and results transmission. Regardless of the type of technology used, the integrity of the system is of paramount importance. There are no specific international standards for the use of technology in elections, save for the regional standards recently developed by the Council of Europe and the Venice Commission. 12 However, general international standards on elections still govern the use of technologies, for example, guaranteeing the secrecy of the vote, ensuring privacy and data protection rights, accessibility for all, and requiring integrity and transparency of the election process. In addition, general international standards around cybersecurity are applicable to elections. Examples of technology used in the electoral process: • Biometric identification – de-duplication of voter registries, voter authentication/identification at the polling station • Mobile device with access to internet – voter registration, voter authentication / identification, electoral results transmission • Web servers – dissemination of electoral information and transmission of results, online registration of political parties and candidates, submission of political finance compliance documentation • Electronic voting – using electronic means to assist with casting ballots. • Optical scanning – used for counting of marked paper ballots • Cryptography – any electoral process requiring the protection of confidentiality (encryption, for example storage of voter biometrics in voter registration systems) or integrity (cryptographic hashing, for example, to establish or preserve chain of custody of digital evidence in EDR) • Geographic Information Systems (GIS) – mapping constituency boundaries, interactive maps for registration and voting Odinga & 16 others v Ruto & 10 others; Law Society of Kenya & 4 others (Amicus Curiae) (Presidential Election Petition E005, E001, E002, E003, E004, E007 & E008 of 2022 (Consolidated)) [2022] KESC 54 (KLR) (Election Petitions) (5 September 2022) (Judgment). 11 The three-layer description is based on "Digital Technologies In Elections - Questions, lessons learned, perspectives," Ardita Driza Maurer, Council of Europe, March 2020. The first layer of digital technology in elections is the digitization of information, including text, pictures, or sound. A good example of this is the scanning of a candidate nomination form into a computer. Simply, this first layer is the process of taking something that is happening in the real world and putting it into a digital format. The second layer of electoral technology is the digital data stored in a computer system. For example, the payroll information for temporary election or poll workers that is stored on computers in an EMB office. The third layer is where the information is processed. For example, biometric matching algorithms that are used to identify duplicate registrations. 12 See Compilation of Venice Commission Opinions and Reports concerning Digital Technologies in the Electoral Process (2018); Council of Europe, Guidelines on use of ICT in electoral processes, February 2022; Council of Europe CM/Rec(2017)5 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on Standards for e-voting and Guidelines. 10 9