Madam, - Having worked in the IT industry for over 20 years, I am concerned at the planned introduction of electronic voting. Commercial organisations would not accept a system like the one we, the Irish people, are being asked to use to vote.
The problem with software is that the processing of information is invisible. For this reason, commercial products include the ability to verify and check that the software is working correctly. There is no reason why electronic voting machines cannot print a paper record of each vote cast which is then placed in a secure box. These paper records can then be checked if there is a dispute.
Can the Minister explain why he is so opposed to this recommendation which has been made on numerous occasions?
We are told the system is secure and trustworthy but limited evidence has been provided to show this. Imagine if your bank said, "We are no longer going to give you receipts for any transaction or to issue account statements; you won't be able to check how much money you have, but trust us, we'll tell you the correct amount". Would you continue to do business with such a bank?
Why, then, does the Minister for the Environment expect us to trust a voting system which cannot be checked? - Yours, etc.,
DERMOT DUNNION,
Managing Director,
CryptAll Limited,
Dublin 4.
Madam, - I thank John Egan (February 10th) for pointing out the limitations of my analogy between electronic banking and electronic voting. Perhaps you would allow me space to clarify my views.
Any voting system, whether electronic or manual, must meet certain important criteria, including a means of verifying the votes cast.
Electronic voting can meet these criteria by: (a) using multiple electronic counting centres, including at least one run by an independent international observer; and (b) random sampling of voters to ensure that their votes have been counted correctly.
In this way, not only can we can ensure that the chances of one person unduly interfering in the democratic process are greatly diminished, but that the result is more accurate and reflective of the actual votes cast, with a much lower margin of error than we currently accept.
My original point was to address a view that electronic voting was inherently flawed because most people do not understand the underlying technology.
Obviously, if electronic voting is badly designed and badly implemented, then it will not work - though the same could also be said of any manual system. - Yours etc.,
COLIN R. COOPER, The Broadway, London SW19.