INEC card reader

INEC card reader, a device that was used for the Nigerian general election, held on March 28, 2015

The INEC card reader is a portable electronic voter authentication device, configured to only read the Permanent Voter Cards issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission.^[1] The card reader was designed specifically for the accreditation process, authentication of eligible voters before voting.^[2] The machine was configured to only read the PVCs of a particular polling unit and can only work on election day.^[3]

Operation

The device uses a cryptographic technology with an ultra-low power consumption and one core frequency of 1.2 GHz and an Android 4.2.2.^[4] The device is position by its operator (usually a trained INEC official) to reads the embedded chip on the PVC, this procedure display the information of the voter, followed by fingerprinting.^[5] It usually takes about 10 to 20 seconds to validate a voter.^[6] On completion of accreditation process, a close V key is used to close the accreditation process and the total number of voters accredited can be previewed using a query key beside the close V key and thereafter, the result may be forwarded to INEC using the Communication key.^[7] The card reader was first used for the Nigeria's presidential election that was held on March 28, 2015.^[8][9]

References