Digitisation, transformation and organisation of candidate-list data for the 2017 and 2021 local elections, with cross-validation.
The context
The information on candidacies for the local elections arrives in large volumes, through successive batches and in a variety of document formats. To be used consistently, it needs to be converted into a common structure, checked and organised.
The work
In 2017, Waymotion carried out for the Comissão Nacional de Eleições (CNE, the national elections commission) the digitisation and organisation of the information relating to around 11,000 candidate lists. Documents received in Office and PDF formats were transformed and loaded into a relational database, according to the rules set by the CNE.
The process combined an adaptation of the Waymotion Server platform with the work of specialist operators. Information was entered redundantly, by different operators, and initially loaded in triplicate. Discrepancies were flagged automatically, allowing the supervisor to check each case and make the necessary corrections.
The validated data was delivered to the CNE in CSV format, through phased batches that tracked the receipt and processing of the lists. At the end of the project, Waymotion also ensured the deletion of the information received and processed, in line with the confidentiality commitments made.
In 2021, the CNE again entrusted Waymotion with work of the same nature. The methodology was applied once more to the lists provided, covering document preparation, information recognition where needed, structured loading, cross-validation and the correction of the inconsistencies detected. The last batch, delivered in November, completed the processing of the lists received.
What it left behind
The engagement did not touch vote counting or the tallying of electoral results. Its contribution sat at an essential earlier stage: turning heterogeneous documentation into organised, coherent and reliable information.
