Fast Vote Count Surprises and Delights Argentina

Argentina processed election results with record-breaking speed during its general elections thanks to the new system implemented in partnership with technology company Smartmatic. The vote was held on October 27.

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Only three hours after voting ended, 70.48% of the tallying reports (called “telegrams” in Argentina) had been digitized, securely transmitted and uploaded into the system. By midnight, 96.08% of telegrams were processed.

Election observers representing the political parties closely monitored the entire process. The high level of transparency and speed with which the results were processed and published allowed the main candidates to publicly accept the outcomes shortly after results were announced.

“We are honored to have supported Argentine authorities for this important election by deploying Smartmatic’s unmatched technology. We were able to facilitate fast, accurate results that gave peace of mind to political parties and the country in general,” said Antonio Mugica, CEO of Smartmatic.

According to information released by election authorities, voter participation exceeded 80%. Voters chose among four candidates for head of government and six formulas for president and vice president. In eight provinces, 72 candidates vied for senate seats and 595 candidates competed to become deputies at the national level.

Smartmatic provided secure technology both for the digitation and transmission of telegrams, and for the consolidation and publication of results. Just as in the primaries held in August, telegrams were transmitted directly from over 10,000 voting centers to two consolidation centers. Approximately 1,700 operators at the consolidation centers transcribed and loaded into the system the information contained in the telegrams.

"Because of the speed and accuracy with which results were published, misinformation about the technology that had been widely distributed across social media and other news outlets fell flat and was easily discredited. Argentines today welcomed the innovations introduced by the authorities that make elections more efficient and more transparent," added Mugica.

Smartmatic participated in Argentina’s 2019 election cycle after winning two public bids in which international election technology companies competed.

It is anticipated that, as in the primaries, the provisional results will be an accurate reflection of the final vote count. In August, the difference between the provisional and final results was less than 1% in each of the Argentine provinces.

About Smartmatic

Smartmatic specializes in the design and deployment of election system technologies. As the global leader in providing secure, transparent, verifiable voting systems, Smartmatic is setting the standard for election integrity worldwide including encrypted results transmission, paper ballot back-up, extensive auditing and the first use of blockchain technology to secure online voting. Additional information about Smartmatic can be found at: www.smartmatic.com

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Contact information

Smartmatic
Mrs. Samira Saba, +1-561-862-0747
Marketing and Communications Director
Communications@smartmatic.com