A leading US computer expert has warned that the Government's new €45 million electronic voting system cannot be trusted as there is no way to verify the results of the count.
Dr David Dill, a professor of computer science at Stanford University, California, told The Irish Times yesterday that the decision to introduce the system for the local and European elections in June should be reversed in order to protect voter confidence.
"I think the Irish Government should change its mind," Prof Dill said. "Voting without any kind of verification or paper trail is not going to be satisfactory."
The latest warning about the system comes as the Opposition prepares for a fresh assault this week on Government preparations to introduce the system at all polling stations in June.
Fine Gael, supported by Labour and the Green Party, is to move a private members motion in the Dáil on Tuesday for a two-day debate on electronic voting. A counter-motion from the Government will be agreed by the Cabinet tomorrow.
The Opposition wants an independent commission established to rule on the introduction of touch-screen electronic voting.
The Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr John Purcell, said last month that there was a strong case for independent validation of tests on the machines before they are used in elections.
Speaking in Seattle, Prof Dill said yesterday any system which cannot be audited to prove the honesty of the count should not be used. The big risk is if there is a software error in the machine, he said.
Prof Dill is involved in a US campaign to block the introduction of electronic voting unless there is a "voter verifiable paper audit trail".
He said being able to provide an independent audit of a vote was essential to answer subsequent claims of error or deliberate falsification. "The big risk is if there is a software error in the machine. If we have an electronic system that can't be audited then we have a serious problem."
He said count errors had come to light after US elections, in some cases large enough to have altered results. A vote in Florida involved an apparent loss of 134 votes, but the election was won by 12 votes.
The professor said New Hampshire banned electronic voting in the 1990s. Other US states are passing legislation requiring paper trails. California and Nevada did so in 2003.
The legislation is being prompted by an appropriations bill passed in Washington after the pre-sidential election count fiasco in Florida in 2000.
Reports from American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting: page 16
