GPStraq

Election officials in the Philippines are using GPS trackers to safeguard polling machines and the security convoys that transport them, as reported by the local media on Friday. The tracking devices will be installed on each police escort vehicle accompanying the machines as they travel from their storage warehouse in Laguna to the various polling centers in Metro Manila, the urban area where local elections will be taking place.

Since the escort route covers areas known to be havens for gangs and political action groups who’ve interfered with elections in years past, officials consider armed escorts with GPS trackers essential in preventing disruption.

The logistical task for elections officials is immense. Over 6 million ballots and 7,500 polling machines have to be delivered to the thousands of polling stations in this one metro area, and the potential for any particular anti-government group to disrupt the process is significant.

Election officials across the globe use GPS trackers regularly to ensure the safety and integrity of polling machines. In 2009, officials in India employed GPS trackers during the country’s national elections. In previous years, anti-government protesters had hijacked election vehicles, sabotaging the polling machines and preventing some precincts from having adequate voting equipment. To prevent theft and to determine when any attacks might occur, GPS trackers were installed in voting equipment. Though only armed escorts could repel separatist attacks, the tracking devices provided valuable intelligence on where and when the attacks occurred. For precincts in particularly extreme locations, helicopters transported the voting machines.

Closer to home, some states have employed GPS trackers in their elections, as well. Arizona was one of the first, most notably in Maricopa County, which uses tracking devices to monitor all 17,000 pieces of voting equipment in the area. The tracking program is set to be fully operational in May, but already election officials have installed the trackers on most equipment. The tracking data allows them to see where each piece of equipment is at any one time, ensuring that all are in secure locations where risk of tampering is minimal. The data also provides valuable feedback to election coordinators, who can use the information to make the transportation and delivery of polling machines more efficient in the future.

While the value of GPS trackers in elections security is unquestionable, funding is often a problem. In the United States, the Help America Vote Act has given many states and counties the chance to invest in such equipment. But elsewhere in the world, GPS trackers are an investment in safety and integrity that requires some sacrifice.