By Petulia Clarke, Staff Reporter 
Walker
THE ELECTORAL Office of Jamaica (EOJ), has struck the names of 2,743 persons from the May 31 voters list as it has been unable to verify the particulars of the individuals who had been enumerated.
Danville Walker, Director of Elections, said yesterday that only 57 persons had come in after the EOJ last month published a list of 2,800 names of would-be voters it said should contact their constituency offices within eight days to verify their particulars.
Mr. Walker said that some of the names were duplicates, while the addresses given by others during the enumeration exercise could not be verified.
"If any of these were to come forward at some time in the future they will go on the next list," he said.
Last month the EOJ published the controversial names advising that those persons having failed to attend sittings with their returning officers were required to contact their constituency offices to show just cause why they should be included on the next voters' list.
Only persons listed on the November 30, 2002 voters list will be eligible to vote in the upcoming Local Government elections scheduled for June 19.
Meanwhile, Mr. Walker has great expectations for the electronic identification of voters by fingerprint system that is to be used during the upcoming elections in the Eastern St. Andrew constituency.
"It's a pilot ...we expect that the machines will perform properly," he said.
The EOJ recorded success of the system after testing at Jamaica College last month, with Information Officer Neville Graham stating that the machines performed "well beyond expectations." Persons who turned out for the testing were identified in under four seconds.
Mr. Graham said that with the normal system the voting process would facilitate 25 persons per hour on election day but with the electronic system the process could be drastically reduced to an average of three minutes per 25 persons.
