Bahamas to introduce biometric voter IDs under new Elections Bill

Prime Minister Philip Davis has announced major changes to The Bahamas’ voter registration system, with a new Parliamentary Elections Amendment Bill providing for biometric voter identification and national voter verification every ten years.

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Leading debate in the House of Assembly last week, Davis said the legislation “replaces the concept of a permanent voter card with a secure biometric card that carries a ten-year validity. That change is now embedded in the new section 14A. This card will be similar to size, shape and feel as to your driver’s license and or NIB card. The card will be valid for ten years.”

The bill also introduces a national voter verification exercise once a decade to maintain the integrity of the register. “During this process voters will appear in person, confirm or update their personal and biometric information and, if needed, receive a new card,” the Prime Minister explained. “The Parliamentary Commissioner will have the authority to conduct this exercise with flexibility in timing and location, and penalties are set for false declarations.”

Davis noted that about 80% of Bahamian voters already have biometric data stored at the Passport Office, which could be transferred securely with voter consent—eliminating the need for repeated biometric capture.

He stressed that the measure is not politically motivated. “Biometric identification is not a new idea that has suddenly appeared. It is not a scheme devised overnight or driven by some political agenda,” he told Parliament. “In fact, it was the former administration that introduced the legal authority for biometric cards. It was their law, passed in 2020, that introduced the concept. Our government is not rushing through a brand-new idea. We are simply implementing a policy that was already agreed in principle by Parliament.”

Framing the amendments as part of a broader push toward digital transformation, Mr. Davis pointed to countries like Guyana, Ghana, and Nigeria that have already adopted biometric voter IDs “to reduce fraud, improve efficiency, and strengthen public trust.”

“The world is changing,” he said. “And if we want to protect our democracy, we must be willing to evolve with it. This is not a symbolic bill. It is a substantive set of amendments that modernize how we register voters, issue voter identification, and administer polling stations. These amendments are targeted, precise, and legally sound. They give full effect to reforms already passed into law, and they provide the tools necessary to protect electoral integrity without limiting access to the ballot.”