Irish voting system doubts

national | miscellaneous | news report

Monday December 09, 2002 12:54

by Irish voting system doubts - Mrs K. Harris

Irish voting system doubts

MONDAY 09/12/2002 08:23:42
Irish voting system doubts
http://u.tv/newsroom/indepth.asp?pt=n&id=26531

A report has highlighted security doubts over a state-of-the-art new automatic voting system used in an Irish general election for the first time earlier this year.

A confidential document submitted to the Dublin government earlier this year said the integrity of a ballot could not be guaranteed when the new electronic poll method is utilised.

The report - drafted for the Irish Environment and Local Government Department by an electronic security company - identified a number of vulnerabilities that could raise doubts over votes cast under the system.

Among other criticisms, it said electors could easily be duped into voting for the wrong candidates by simply taping a fake ballot over the front panel of the machine.

The findings were disputed, by a spokesman for the department, who said the machines and the ballot papers could not be tampered with as that was prevented by the presence at poll stations of voting officials. But the department agreed that attempts to interfere with the voting system could never be ruled out.

Push-button voting was used in three constituencies in last May`s Irish general election, and in seven areas in October`s referendum on the Treaty of Nice for European Union expansion.

It is due to be extended on a nationwide basis for the first time in local elections due in Ireland next year.

The system - which is already in use in other European states - is replacing a manual type of polling in the Irish Republic`s proportional representation electoral method that often led to the counting of votes lasting for several days.

The new set-up permits counts to be completed and declarations made within hours of the close of polls in an election or referendum.

Ireland`s Fine Gael parliamentary opposition party, said the new system should not be extended until its security could be guaranteed.

And Joe Higgins, the sole Irish Socialist Party representative in the Dublin parliament said electronic voting should be abandoned, claiming it could be open to ``radical manipulation.``

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Comments (13 of 13)

from RTE

by Kathy

Mon Dec 09, 2002 12:54

Report raises e-voting equipment concerns
December 8, 2002

A confidential report has expressed serious concern over the security of the new electronic voting machines used in Ireland.

According to the report for the Department of Environment, the integrity of the ballot cannot be guaranteed with the current equipment and controls.

Among other criticisms, it says voters could easily be duped into voting for the wrong candidates by simply taping a fake ballot over the front panel of the machine.

However, the Department has disagreed with many of these findings, saying the machines are secure and that the presence of voting officials prevents tampering.

TD urges government to abandon voting system

The Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins has said electronic voting should be abandoned.

He said there were other more fundamental issues than those raised in the report. There was, he claimed, a lack of transparency and the new system could be open to "radical manipulation."

This page : http://www.rte.ie/news/2002/1208/voting.html

While the story is relevant

by Ray

Mon Dec 09, 2002 12:57

It would have been even better if you'd written an article yourself. Indymedia is primarily for original news. It shouldn't be seen or used as a digest of other news sources.

what does Ray do all day?

by not ray

Mon Dec 09, 2002 13:02

not even three minutes after this was posted, Ray decides to be the newswire cop and intervene.

One has to suspect he waits all day for someone to break his rules, does he not have better things to do?

It's Raybocop !

by Eddie

Mon Dec 09, 2002 13:11

Who needs Robocop when we have Raybocop?

Intervene?

Mon Dec 09, 2002 13:27

I didn't call for it to be deleted, I didn't insult the poster, I asked for original reporting. The kind of thing indymedia is supposed to be about.
What do YOU do all day that you have nothing better to do than wait for me to post and reply five minutes later?

Doing what I supposed to be doing

Mon Dec 09, 2002 13:31

'What do YOU do all day that you have nothing better to do than wait for me to post and reply five minutes later?'

I was providing news to Indymedia readers, shame on me.

What, this story?

Mon Dec 09, 2002 13:48

So you have enough time to cut and paste an article, and enough time to watch the newswire and wait for me to respond, but you don't have enough time to write an ORIGINAL piece?

still doing it

by wow

Mon Dec 09, 2002 13:52

almost an hour later and Ray is still policing the site.

Ray, do you ever get sleep?

Where are you posting from?

Mon Dec 09, 2002 13:58

Because its lunchtime in Ireland.
I do sleep, but generally not in the middle of the day.

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Irish voting system doubts

Comments (13 of 13)