Incident: Electronic Voting System Glitch Halts Dominican Republic Municipal Elections

Published Date: 2020-02-16

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident of the Dominican Republic's nationwide municipal elections happened on February 16, 2020, as reported in [Article 95823].
System 1. Electronic voting system used in the Dominican Republic's nationwide municipal elections [95823].
Responsible Organization 1. The Dominican Republic's electoral body was responsible for causing the software failure incident as stated by Julio Cesar Castanos, the president of the electoral body, who mentioned that nearly half of the electronic devices did not work properly and many virtual ballot papers did not load, leading to the suspension of the nationwide municipal elections [95823].
Impacted Organization 1. Voters in the Dominican Republic [95823]
Software Causes 1. Glitch in the electronic voting system led to the suspension of the nationwide municipal elections in the Dominican Republic [95823].
Non-software Causes 1. The electronic devices did not work properly, with nearly half of them malfunctioning, leading to the failure of the electronic voting system [95823].
Impacts 1. The nationwide municipal elections in the Dominican Republic were suspended only four hours after voting began due to a glitch in the electronic voting system, affecting over 7.4 million voters and 3,849 positions in 158 municipalities [Article 95823]. 2. Nearly half of the electronic devices did not work properly, and many virtual ballot papers did not load, leaving citizens unable to cast their votes [Article 95823]. 3. The failure of the electronic voting system is likely to raise concerns ahead of the upcoming May 17 presidential elections in the Dominican Republic [Article 95823]. 4. The suspension of the vote was considered "outrageous and unjustified" by the leader of the opposition Modern Revolutionary Party, Luis Abinader [Article 95823]. 5. Opposition parties, such as the People's Force, objected to the use of electronic voting due to fears of software manipulation [Article 95823].
Preventions 1. Implementing thorough testing and quality assurance procedures before deploying the electronic voting system could have potentially prevented the software failure incident [95823]. 2. Conducting a pilot test or simulation of the electronic voting system in a controlled environment to identify and address any potential issues prior to the actual election day could have helped prevent the glitch [95823]. 3. Ensuring regular maintenance and updates of the electronic voting system to address any software bugs or vulnerabilities that could lead to failures during critical events like elections could have been a preventive measure [95823].
Fixes 1. Conducting a thorough investigation to determine the root cause of the glitch in the electronic voting system [95823]. 2. Performing an exhaustive audit recommended by the observer commission from the Organization of American States (OAS) to identify the failure [95823]. 3. Engaging in a dialogue involving all political sectors to find a solution and potentially hold new elections [95823].
References 1. Julio Cesar Castanos, president of Dominican Republic's electoral body [95823] 2. Eduardo Frei, president of the observer commission from the Organization of American States (OAS) [95823] 3. Luis Abinader, leader of the opposition Modern Revolutionary Party [95823] 4. Opposition parties, such as the People's Force, of former President Leonel Fernández [95823]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring multiple_organization (a) The software failure incident having happened again at one_organization: - The article does not mention any previous incidents of software failure within the same organization. (b) The software failure incident having happened again at multiple_organization: - The article mentions that several opposition parties objected to the use of electronic voting due to fears that the software could be manipulated, indicating concerns about software failures in the context of elections [95823].
Phase (Design/Operation) design, operation (a) The software failure incident in the Dominican Republic's municipal elections was attributed to a glitch in the electronic voting system, specifically related to the design phase. The failure was caused by nearly half of the electronic devices not working properly and virtual ballot papers not loading correctly, preventing citizens from casting their votes. The president of the electoral body mentioned initiating a thorough investigation to determine why the ballot papers did not load correctly, indicating issues introduced during the system development or updates [95823]. (b) Additionally, the software failure incident could also be linked to the operation phase, as the failure occurred during the actual voting process when citizens were unable to cast their votes due to the malfunctioning electronic voting system. This aspect of the failure could be attributed to factors related to the operation or misuse of the system during the election day [95823].
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system (a) The software failure incident in the Dominican Republic's nationwide municipal elections was within the system. The article mentions that nearly half of the electronic devices did not work properly, and many virtual ballot papers did not load, leading to citizens being unable to cast their votes. The failures were specific to the 18 municipalities that used electronic voting, indicating an internal issue with the electronic voting system [95823].
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions (a) The software failure incident in the Dominican Republic's nationwide municipal elections was attributed to a glitch in the electronic voting system, which led to the suspension of the elections. The glitch caused nearly half of the electronic devices not to work properly, and many virtual ballot papers did not load, preventing citizens from casting their votes. This failure was a non-human action, as it was a technical issue within the software system itself [95823]. (b) Some opposition parties, such as the People's Force, objected to the use of electronic voting due to fears that the software could be manipulated. This indicates concerns about potential human actions introducing factors that could compromise the integrity of the voting process. However, the specific software failure incident that led to the suspension of the elections was primarily attributed to a technical glitch in the system [95823].
Dimension (Hardware/Software) hardware, software (a) The software failure incident in the Dominican Republic's nationwide municipal elections was attributed to a glitch in the electronic voting system, which led to the suspension of the elections. The glitch caused nearly half of the electronic devices not to work properly and many virtual ballot papers not to load, preventing citizens from casting their votes. This issue was specific to the electronic voting system used in 18 out of the 158 municipalities, indicating a hardware-related failure [95823]. (b) Opposition parties, such as the People's Force, expressed concerns about the use of electronic voting due to fears that the software could be manipulated. This suggests that there were concerns about potential software-related issues that could compromise the integrity of the voting process [95823].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) non-malicious (a) The articles do not indicate that the software failure incident during the Dominican Republic's municipal elections was malicious. There is no mention of any intentional actions aimed at harming the system or manipulating the software [95823]. (b) The software failure incident during the elections was non-malicious. It was attributed to a glitch in the electronic voting system, with reports of nearly half of the electronic devices not working properly and virtual ballot papers not loading correctly, leading to citizens being unable to cast their votes. The failure was described as a technical issue that affected the voting process [95823].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) poor_decisions (a) The software failure incident in the Dominican Republic's nationwide municipal elections was likely due to poor decisions. The glitch in the electronic voting system led to the suspension of the elections, affecting a significant number of voters and raising concerns ahead of the upcoming presidential elections [95823]. The decision to use electronic voting in only 18 out of 158 municipalities, focusing on areas with high population density, may have contributed to the failure as nearly half of the electronic devices did not work properly and ballot papers did not load correctly, preventing citizens from casting their votes. The opposition parties also objected to the use of electronic voting due to fears of software manipulation, indicating potential poor decisions in the implementation of the technology.
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) development_incompetence (a) The software failure incident in the Dominican Republic's nationwide municipal elections was likely due to development incompetence. The glitch in the electronic voting system led to nearly half of the electronic devices not working properly and virtual ballot papers not loading correctly, preventing citizens from casting their votes [95823]. The president of the electoral body mentioned initiating a thorough investigation to determine why the ballot papers did not load correctly, indicating a potential issue related to professional competence in the development or implementation of the electronic voting system.
Duration temporary (a) The software failure incident in the Dominican Republic's nationwide municipal elections was temporary. The incident occurred only four hours after voting began and was specifically attributed to a glitch in the electronic voting system [Article 95823]. The failure was not permanent as it was related to a specific circumstance (glitch in the system) rather than a fundamental flaw in the software itself.
Behaviour crash, omission, other (a) crash: The software failure incident in the Dominican Republic's municipal elections was characterized by a crash. The electronic voting system experienced a glitch that led to the suspension of the elections only four hours after voting began. Nearly half of the electronic devices did not work properly, and many virtual ballot papers did not load, preventing citizens from casting their votes [Article 95823]. (b) omission: The software failure incident also involved omission. Due to the glitch in the electronic voting system, many virtual ballot papers did not load correctly, resulting in citizens being unable to cast their votes [Article 95823]. (c) timing: The timing of the software failure incident was not explicitly mentioned in the article. (d) value: The software failure incident did not involve the system performing its intended functions incorrectly. (e) byzantine: The software failure incident did not exhibit behaviors of inconsistent responses or interactions. (f) other: The software failure incident could be categorized as a failure due to a glitch in the electronic voting system, leading to the suspension of the elections and the inability of citizens to cast their votes [Article 95823].

IoT System Layer

Layer Option Rationale
Perception None None
Communication None None
Application None None

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence delay The consequence of the software failure incident reported in Article 95823 was a delay. The nationwide municipal elections in the Dominican Republic were suspended due to a glitch in the electronic voting system, causing a delay in the voting process [95823].
Domain information, government (a) The failed system was intended to support the information industry as it was related to the electoral process in the Dominican Republic. The incident involved a glitch in the electronic voting system used during the nationwide municipal elections [95823]. The electronic voting system was supposed to facilitate the voting process for millions of voters across the country, but due to the software failure, many citizens were unable to cast their votes, leading to the suspension of the elections. (l) The failed system was also related to the government industry. The software failure occurred during the nationwide municipal elections in the Dominican Republic, which are a crucial part of the democratic process in the country [95823]. The glitch in the electronic voting system impacted the electoral process and raised concerns about the upcoming presidential elections. The president of the electoral body mentioned initiating a thorough investigation into the failure to understand why the ballot papers did not load correctly, highlighting the importance of the government's role in ensuring fair and efficient elections.

Sources

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