Madam, - Joe McCarthy's letter of February 18th makes a number of unfounded charges against this Department and the electronic voting and counting system.
Mr McCarthy's requests to the Department under the Freedom of Information Act have been dealt with fairly and properly, and have provided him with extensive information on the new voting system. Partial refusal of access to records has been on grounds specified by the FOI Act.
Likewise, fees have been charged in accordance with established scales and having regard to the considerable work involved in servicing the FOI requests.
Mr McCarthy's criticisms of the Department's contract with Powervote/Nedap have no substance: it is already well recorded that we have used the pilot projects in electronic voting (at the 2002 general election and in the Nice 2 referendum) to identify further desirable improvements in the machines' voter interface. These improvements are embodied in the new voting machine model ESI2; the earlier models used in the pilots are being upgraded to this specification.
We agree with Mr McCarthy that the software testing undertaken by PTB (German National Institute for Science and Technology) did not include the statutory count rules. This was because testing of these rules was undertaken separately by the UK- based Electoral Reform Services.
The voting machine to be used in Ireland costs more than the standard Nedap machine because of more complex requirements of the Irish electoral system and of enhancements (including additional security features) we have procured to provide the best level of service to Irish voters.
Mr McCarthy attempts to link the Nedap voting machine to the decision of the UK Electoral Commission not to proceed immediately to electronic voting. This decision did not imply any dissatisfaction with the Nedap system; it reflects the wish of the UK commission to continue its exploration of electronic systems, with particular reference to possible internet voting.
The system software gave a fully satisfactory performance at the 2002 pilots in which some 400,000 Irish people cast their votes. Software appropriate to the European and local elections has been developed by the manufacturers and subjected to parallel independent testing during its preparation. Final testing is now being completed by Electoral Reform Services and an Irish firm, Nathean Technologies.
All of this is in accordance with the planned timetable.
Finally, Mr McCarthy repeats the demand that electronic voting systems must have a paper audit trail. This ignores the fact that only a tiny minority of electoral administrations worldwide which use electronic voting incorporate this paper function.
The Department's focus, in common with the great majority of other electoral administrations, has been on producing a robust and reliable electronic system for Irish voters. We are committed to delivering this. -Yours, etc.,
PETER GREENE, Principal, Franchise Section, Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Custom House, Dublin 1
Madam, - Your Editorial of February 19th claims that the electronic voting machines are open to "hacking" and "viruses". This is not possible as the machines will not have any outside communication ports or modem and thus cannot in any way be hacked into or be attacked by a virus.
Misinformation such as this only causes further unnecessary confusion. I welcome e-voting as being far more accurate than paper and pencil. - Yours, etc.,
PETER McAULEY, Parkwest Enterprise Centre, Dublin 12.
Madam, - Double Dutch is the normal mode of communication for the Taoiseach and his Cabinet on any politically sensitive topic. So let us not blame Dutch hardware and software engineers for the current confusion over electronic voting. - Yours, etc.,
PETER MOLLOY, Haddington Park, Glenageary, Co Dublin.
Madam, - The Government's cheerleaders for the supposed ease of e-voting and the electorate's level of comfort with technology should bear in mind Groucho Marx's comment: "A child of five could understand this. Fetch me a child of five." - Yours, etc.,
WINNIFRED OLIVER, Pacific Heights, San Francisco, USA.
Madam, - Democracy, like justice, must not only work; it must be seen to work. - Yours, etc.,
JOHN HAMILL, Claremont Crescent, Glasnevin, Dublin 11.