The Dβil returns on Wednesday and deputies had been looking forward, or not as the case may be, to the new electronic voting system. It meant they would no longer have to rise from their seats to traipse through the lobbies for their vote to be recorded by the tellers in the ledgers at the top of the stairs. Unfortunately, despite expectations, the new system won't be ready until nearer Christmas.
Normally a vote in the Dβil takes about 20 minutes from the ringing of the bells to the announcement of the result on the floor of the house. The new system will speed it up. While the bells will ring for the same length and deputies will be given the usual 10 minutes to get inside before the doors are locked, the rest will be speedier. When a number of votes are taken together the time saved will be even greater.
As well as this planned technical change, in a more practical upheaval, deputies will now have designated seating, because consoles with "tβ" and "n∅l" buttons will be located in front of each member to record their vote. The result will be flashed on a "discreet" screen hanging for all to see.
This modernisation of the voting system is not going to stop in the Dβil chamber. Much to the chagrin of old-style tallymen and election addicts hooked on marathon hand counts, electronic voting in national elections is also on the way. Voters will press a button, disks recording the votes in each constituency will be sent to a central counting office after the polls close and there will be a result in an hour or so. Printouts showing preferences will be available and the tallymen will be redundant.
Electronic voting is due to be introduced on a trial basis in two or three constituencies in the next election. Tests are already under way to iron out any problems our complex single transferable vote system may create. There is always the fear of a Florida-type fiasco but hanging chads won't exist here.
Many though, including Quidnunc, will miss the excitement of the old ways.