Barcelona & Melbourne – March 5, 2015 – Scytl, the worldwide leader in election modernisation, online voting and eGovernance technology, received recognition from the Zero Project and its panel of disability and accessibility experts for its innovative and secure practices supporting persons with disabilities to vote independently, privately and securely.
Every year, the Zero Project recognizes the most innovative practices in favor of persons with disabilities. Scytl´s eVoting implementation for the Victorian State Elections in 2006 and 2010 were awarded a certificate for 2015 Innovative Policies and Practices for its outstanding contribution in the support of persons with disabilities in the State of Victoria, Australia. The project was selected from over 250 projects nominated from across the globe.
Zero Project, an ESSL initiative that promotes the rights of persons with disabilities, also has the support of organizations such as IFES, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Human Rights Watch, Global Alliance on Accessible Technologies and Environment (GAATES).
“We are extremely proud of being able to provide the technology that can help overcome the barriers that persons with disabilities face when trying to exercise their right to vote. For these citizens, modernising electoral and governance processes via innovative technology is not only a matter of convenience, but a necessity,” says Pere Valles, CEO at Scytl.
Prior to the implementation of Scytl eVoting by the Victorian Electoral Commission in 2006, visually impaired voters in Victoria were unable to vote in private, as they required the assistance of a sighted person. Voters with visual impairments had the option of using an audio device at an election kiosk or casting their votes by phone. The voting solution in 2010 supported 12 languages, and included several zoom and contrasting options on the kiosk screen and an audio interface together with headphones and a specially selected keyboard. As a result of the solution and support provided in those projects, voters in the State of Victoria benefited from:
- Improved voting experience for visual impaired voters
- An increase in participation of the involved communities: visual impaired voters, including those living in UK or in other Australian states
- Electoral transparency due to audits and supervision processes carried out by different trusted entities.
About Scytl
Scytl is the global leader in secure election management, electronic voting and eGovernance solutions. Specializing in election modernization technologies, Scytl offers the first end-to-end election management and voting platform, providing the highest security and transparency standards currently available. Scytl has capitalized on its more than 18 years of research to develop election-specific cryptographic security technology protected by more than 40 international patents and patent applications, positioning Scytl as the company with the largest patent portfolio of the industry.
Scytl’s solutions have been successfully used in over 38 countries across the globe over the last 10 years, including Canada, the United States, Mexico, Ecuador, France, Norway, Switzerland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the UAE, India, Iceland and Australia. Scytl is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, with strategic offices in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Peru and Greece, as well as field offices in the UK, Ukraine, Mexico, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh and Australia. For more information, visit www.scytl.com.
Media Contacts
Leticia Barcia
Senior Director Marketing Communications, Scytl
+34 934 230 324