New Voter ID Cards Up to International Standard

The national voter identification (ID) cards have been brought up to international standard, with new design and security features added.

The cards, which are being distributed by the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ), and are set to expire in 2031, pioneer a new level of identification security for Jamaica.

Public Education Officer at the EOJ, Daynia Harper, who provided details about the improvements to JIS News recently, said the material used to produce the cards has changed.

“The previous card was more of a Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material. This card is different because it is made of polycarbonate material, so if you dropped the previous card it would sound like plastic, but this current card would sound more metallic. The polycarbonate material is more secure, and it is of a more international standard. It is where a lot of international identification cards are going,” she noted.

She said that countries like Switzerland, Finland and Singapore have made the switch to the polycarbonate form of national ID, with the UK advancing the use of polycarbonate by incorporating it into their 2020 blue edition passports.

In addition, Ms. Harper said that the new cards are laser printed, so the information is embedded in the card itself, making them far more secure than before.

“With the previous cards, the information is on the surface of the card, and it is a laminated card, so they were more susceptible to fraud because you could peel the laminate off the surface of the card,” she pointed out.

There are also noticeable differences between the previous voter ID cards and the new ones, such as colouring, including the colour of the photograph, and placement of demographic information.

“The photograph of the elector is now in black and white. The previous card had the photo in colour, and the photo used to be on the right side of the card. The photo of the elector [on the new card] is now on the left. If you look at a lot of overseas identification cards they are now in black and white. Based on the polycarbonate material and the printing process it has to be a black and white photo,” Ms. Harper told JIS News.

The New York driver’s licence and the UK national ID card also feature black and white photographs and a similar positioning of information.

Other changes include the removal of the image of the hummingbird and replacement of the Coat of Arms with the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ) logo in the top left-hand corner. The cards also now include hues of pink and yellow throughout.

New Voter ID cards can be collected from a pick-up location, which can be found by visiting the EOJ’s website www.ecj.com.jm.

Distribution of the new voter ID cards is being done at the EOJ constituency offices between the hours 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Monday to Thursday; and from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Fridays.

Distribution is being sone alphabetically as follows – Mondays A-E; Tuesdays F-K; Wednesdays L-P; Thursdays Q-T; and Fridays U-Z.