Over 278,000 dead voters no longer on electoral list in Jamaica

JAMAICA OBSERVER: THE Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) has axed 278,491 names of deceased electors from the national voters’ list since 2005.

According to the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) annual report for 2023 to 2024, there were 8,659 names removed from the November 2023 voters’ list, while 22,094 names were added.

An additional 4,331 electors were also removed from the May voters’ list for 2023, which was released six months prior.

Under the dead elector removal programme, EOJ verifiers are deployed to constituencies to visit the homes of 1.1 million electors islandwide in order to identify electors who have died in the 40 and over age range. The process, which began in November 2018, aims to ensure that the list of eligible electors is current and prevent the practice of individuals possibly using the names of deceased electors to cast votes in elections.

An updated list with the names of electors eligible to vote in the general election, which is constitutionally due later this year, will be published on May 31, 2025 with the addition and removal of names, the ECJ said in an emailed response to questions posed by the Jamaica Observer. The current voters’ list, published on November 30, 2024, has the names of 2,062,000 registered electors.

The ECJ noted that while the process has seen the removal of thousands of names, various challenges still hamper the effectiveness of the programme.

“While the Representation of the People Act mandates the Registrar General’s Department (RGD), on a quarterly basis, to share information on deceased persons, the information is sometimes insufficient to identify the person on the voters’ list.

“With no unique identifier for each person, the available personal data — such as date of birth, address, or even the name of the registered death — may not match the person on the voters’ list,” the ECJ wrote in the email.

While there have been no reports about individuals attempting to use the names of dead electors to vote in recent elections, the ECJ appealed for individuals to come forward with any information that can help to clear names off the list.

“We appeal to persons to inform us of the death of [a] relative or acquaintance, providing proof of identification as well as proof of death for our investigation and confirmation. Funeral directors, churches or religious bodies could also assist by providing the information in their possession to the EOJ on a regular basis.

“We also commenced a national dead elector removal exercise in 2018, which resulted in the removal of more than 80,000 dead electors. Ideally, a new enumeration exercise or reverification exercise conducted periodically, such as every 10 years, would more adequately address the identification and removal of registered electors who are no longer eligible to vote,” it added.

The ECJ warned that attempting to use the names of deceased electors to vote is illegal, and cautioned persons not to attempt to impersonate dead electors or any other elector.

“Our presiding officers have been so trained to be vigilant in verifying the identity of each elector who applies to vote at any polling station. We have implemented several procedures to verify the identity of electors, even if they do not present their ID card — including the Electronic Voter Identification System which uses biometrics, fingerprint or facial recognition to identity electors in some constituencies,” the ECJ told the Sunday Observer.

Under Section 93 of the Representation of the People Act, which addresses the matter of personation, every person who at an election applies for a ballot paper in the name of another person — whether that name be the name of a person living or dead, or of a fictitious person, or who having voted once at any election applies at the same election for a ballot paper in his own name — shall be guilty of personation within the meaning of this Act.

Section 95 of the Representation of the People Act, which speaks to the penalty for personation, also states that every person who is guilty of personation, aiding, abetting, counselling, or procuring the commission of the offence of personation, shall be guilty of a felony, and on conviction thereof before a resident magistrate be liable to a fine not less than $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not less than two years nor more than five years, and, on conviction thereof before a Circuit Court, shall be liable to a fine not less than $50,000 or to imprisonment for such term as the court may impose, being not less than five years.

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