Department of Civil Registration and Administrative Services, Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, Bulgaria

Web access to election rolls for all Bulgarian voters based on Microsoft SQL Server

Published: 20.06.2003

The Bulgarian Electronic Information System for Civil Registration and Administrative Services (CRAS)collects and provides information about all Bulgarian citizens, about 10 million people.Using Microsoft technologies CRAS department developedfree accessed “Web access to election rolls” system to help citizens check their personal data in the election rolls and find their voting place.

Situation

The Information System for Civil Registration and Administrative Services (CRAS) stores personal data for all Bulgarian citizens counting about 8000000 alive (living in Bulgaria and abroad) and about 2000000 dead people. Personal data include Personal ID, Addresses, Marital status, Relatives’ data and etc.

Corresponding with Bulgarian Elections Law,beginning in 1990all election rolls are printed by CRAS department. In 2001 about 15 % of Bulgarian citizens use Internet. CRAS high level management and IT Department took up challenge to a revolutionary neweService – “Web access to election rolls”. The task was additionally extended by the requirements for reliable protection of citizens' personal data and inadmissibility of non-authorized access to the data by third people. Detailed research on possible software solutions was made just before the project start. The choice of key Microsoft Technologies:Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft SQL Server 2000, Microsoft IIS 5.0 and Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 showed to bevery successful according to short term of realization, solution integration, performance and lowering total cost of ownership.

Solution

The “Web access to election rolls”eService is available only immediately before and during elections and referenda. The service started for the first time in October 2001 for the President Elections. Accessible to any Bulgarian citizen the service requires only web server authentication, which is done by digital certificate through SSL. This also provides end-to-end data encryption of the data exchange. The service helps citizens to find the exact place where they should vote and check their data.

The service utilizes standard layered three-tier architecture and is implemented as a web application:

  • Database layer. The application uses partial copy of CRAS database where it physically implements part of the next layer as stored procedures.
  • Middle layer. This layer represents the business logic of the web application in the form of generalized operations independent from the physical design of the database. The layer is implemented by SQL stored procedures and VBScript procedures in the UI layer. Real business logic components on application server are not used aimingat decreased response time and improved performance; therefore, this layer could be treated as virtual in this implementation.
  • User Interface (UI) layer. Communicates with users and provides functionality based on operations implemented by lower (middle) layer. The site is targeted to wide audience and incorporates in its design latest innovations in the field of usability and UI design, including:
  • Flat interface (like Microsoft XP product line) with no popping-up messages and windows
  • Web wizards, i.e. entering data step by step in simple forms
  • Well structured site with features grouped by functionality
  • Information area in the site explaining current elections law and terminology
  • Custom implementation of error messages matching the overallsite design

The tools used to develop the solution are Visual Studio development tools and Active Server Pages.They helped to develop the solution rapidly and perform at high levels.

For workload balancing the solution is implemented ontwo servers.Both of them run Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Operating System and are behind a Firewall.

  • Database Server running Microsoft SQL Server 2000
  • Web Server running Microsoft IIS 5.0 – serves the web site specially designed for the application purpose

Among one of the most important things architects and developers had in mind were security concerns. The result was:

  • Security features incorporated into core site design
  • Published security best practices were followed in development and administration phase

Examples for such security features are the extended logging system, site components and load monitoring, etc.

Benefits

24x7 access to election rolls

Provides citizens with 24x7 accesses to election rolls database where they can check their place for voting. This eliminates the need for searching the place where election rolls arepublicly exhibited, which corresponds with enhanced mobility and life style of modern people.

Remote access to election rolls for citizens abroad

Provides citizens with access to voting information remotely, independent of their location worldwide.

Real usage of eServices by contemporary Bulgarian citizens

During the President Elections about 6800000 voters had the ability to find online where is their voting place and check their data in the election rolls. The total site performance was very high despite the use of inexpensive hardware.In peak days the serviced requests reached15 000 hits per day. At national level, this is good number.By the end of Elections almost 50% of people using Internet in Bulgaria had used this eService.

Transparent activities of Government Administration

Young Democracy like Bulgarian is highly sensitive to content, accuracy and mechanism of preparing the election rolls. Our society needs efficient control and full transparency in such activities, connected to the election process and as this is the foundation of democratic traditions. The eService “Web access to election rolls” is a step on the way of building a new democracy, applying transparency and efficient control to Government Administration activities, corresponding to high social interest.

Security and Reliability

The used set of Microsoft technologies integrate smoothly and seamlessly, providing cutting edge reliability, security and performance. Despite frequent hacking attempts and site load there was no need even to restart one service. The site didn’t stop for a second – during the whole period it was accessible to citizens. New site versions were deployed transparently, on the fly together with administrative settings. Following best practices and Microsoft Operations Framework risk management hacking and unauthorized data access attempts were caught early preventing disruption of site services. This service proved in practice that solutions built on Microsoft platforms are secure and reliable.

For More Information

For more information about Microsoft products or services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. In Bulgaria, call the Microsoft Bulgaria information Center at (+359 2) 9657 101. To access information via the World Wide Web, go to:

For more information on CRAS visit their web site at:

or call at (+359 2) 986 34 86

© 2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

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