“Venezuela probably has the best voting system that I have ever known…” said Jimmy Carter, former US President, and founder of the Carter Center.
This quote is part of an interview made by Andres Oppenheimer, aired on June 23, 2013 in CNN, which also resulted in the article Carter will irk both sides in Venezuela. Among the wide range of issues covered, the recent presidential election held in Venezuela was a particular point of interest. The election had a photo finish result, the tightest race in 49 years, so the demand made by Henrique Capriles, one of the candidates, of extending the audits already performed to the results has caught worldwide attention.
Since 1982, Jimmy Carter and his wife have been leading the Carter Center, a nongovernmental and not-for-profit organization advancing human rights. He began this work immediately after serving as the 39th US President of the United States from 1977 to 1981.
The Carter Center, headquartered in Atlanta Georgia, is nowadays an organization recognized for a deep knowledge in election observation. During the last thirty years it has observed 94 elections in 37 countries.
In Venezuela, the Carter Center has participated in elections since 1998, year in which electronic counting was introduced. In 2004, Smartmatic was selected to expand automation to include voting. Over time, the center has had the chance to study the voting system we developed alongside Venezuelan authorities and with the input of many experts in the field. As a result of the thorough examination of the Venezuelan solution Mr. Carter stated: “After having monitored 92 elections, I can say that Venezuela has the best voting system in the world, since it makes verifying the electoral results easier. It allows electronic voting and offers a physical, printed backup of the votes”.
Such statements, and especially coming from one of the most respected voices in the field of election observation, represent an unequivocal recognition of our leadership in the industry, and an invitation to continue developing innovative technology to help authorities around the world to carry the best elections possible.