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E-voting: a better idea on paper
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Just put the whole €52-million-plus-storage cost issue aside for one moment.
Though our “single transferable vote” system may be one of the more democratic ones going, you seem to need a degree in rocket science to understand what’s going on.
Quotas? Fifteenth count? Transfers? I get a splitting headache everytime I try to follow election coverage here. I’m tempted to say, “just tell me who bloody won, will ya?”
Given all of the confusion surrounding the method, I can definitely see the attraction in coming up with a way of totting everything up at the push of a button and not having to wait a couple of days for a result.
The only problem is, it’s not a football league table we’re talking about here. Nor is it stats on who people think should win X-Factor. This is about the power to run the country, and given the very existence of this blog, it’s something more and more people are taking seriously with every passing day.
Now, don’t get me wrong: I love gadgets. iPods, Playstations, camera phones, SatNav; bring ‘em on I say, though I draw the line at Bluetooth headsets: they make you look like there’s a slug crawling out of your ear. It’s just that when it comes to electing members for councils and the Dail, I find it hard to believe there’s a computer program that can’t be compromised in some way. So until I can be convinced otherwise, paper will always get my vote.
On a side note, how about the arrogance of Comrade Bertski getting so aggressive in the Dail in defence of e-voting? He must think his word is some kind of cast-iron guarantee or something! Someone needs to advise him to lie low for a while, I reckon…
Ah but the confusion and drama is all part of the attraction of PR:STD. If we could find out who won in 15 minutes then it’d be boring.
the reason we’re so attached to this pr system is that it is slow and reasonably transparent every count gives a result of a kind and so on….
all kinds of tow- rags have tried to dump this system but the people have said no no no
The nub of the criticism of e-voting now seems to revolve around the risk of hackers interfering with the results. However, this seems to relate to the fact that there is a common key for all the machines. You don’t exactly have to be Einstein to devise a solution to this. Personally, I would favour a safe-style lock to prevent this sort of problem. I also favour a paper-trail. Going into the 21st century, in a Europe where e-voting is the norm, I don’t think it makes sense to stick with our pencil and paper – and waiting days for a final result. We trust so much to electronics already e.g. laser/credit cards. It seems logical then to progress to e-voting – once a relatively foolproof system is devised.
I agree, Brian, that there should be a paper trail with e-voting, but think about where that leads.
I’m not sure what the precise rules are, but I understand that if a count comes particularly close, a losing candidate can demand a recount.
Under e-voting, this would mean the paper trail would need to be counted, which means each constituency must have on hand a full counting staff regardless of the fact that the votes were counted by machine.
Since everyone is going to be there ready to count anyway, I reckon it’s better just to do it the old way.
And re: Einstein … you have to remember just who we all are discussing this right now. To negotiate a blog you need a bit of computer savvy. Democracies are for EVERYone. I believe vote counting is one thing that should be left to people, and though I am far from a Euro-sceptic, in this area I don’t see why we should do something just because the rest of the continent is doing it.
Thank you all for your comments.
Being serious and very boring, I think that the PR system that we have has retarded the development of a rigid, ideology-based political system as “across the border.” It allows voters to have it all: they can vote for a dyed-in-the-wool fascist, a racy liberal, a cool pragmatist – the gamut of political types (short-hair, long-hair, best-of-breed etc.) all at the same time, without any explanation. And while the present PR system is complex, and also frightening in just how perverse it can be. I don’t think we should under-estimate the sophistication of the typical Irish electoral punter. In Ireland, unlike Russia or the state of Nevada, it’s not possible to vote against all candidates. With a bit of guile and the tactical dedication that comes from decades of playing “Spot the Ball”, it is possible, especially in local elections, to cast a vote which will definitely hurt one candidate more than others. And that’s what I like to see amongst our politicians: real pain, because remember: no pain, no g …