Will you be an electronic voter tomorrow? Alison O'Connor explains how the system works
Electonic voting couldn't be simpler, according to the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, who believes it is easier than the traditional pencil and ballot paper method.
After tomorrow the electorate of Meath, Dublin North, and Dublin West, who will be exercising their franchise electronically, will be able to give their own verdict.
The results from these three constituencies with more than 231,000 voters are expected to be known just hours after the polls close at 10.30 p.m. tomorrow night.
Upon entering the polling station voters will have their name marked off in the normal way. They will then be given a token. A polling clerk will be standing at each machine to take that token.
Standing at the machine the voter will look down at a ballot paper with the candidates listed alphabetically, including their photograph, and a button just across from each name. They will vote for the candidate of their choice by pushing the button directly across from the name. A small digital screen shows the number of the preference, whether 1,2,3,4 ...
If a mistake is made, or a person changes their mind, they press the button opposite the candidate's name a second time. This will delete the preference and they can start again.
The display on the machine will remind each voter to press the "Cast Vote" button at the end. The polling staff may inform a voter they have not pressed this button. If it is still not pressed after these reminders the polling staff will deactivate the voting machine and the voter will not be permitted to use it again for that election.
Electronic voting has raised the question of whether voters have a constitutional right to spoil their vote. The Minister for the Environment says there is no such right.
The display screen on the machine will inform the voter that their vote has been stored. The polling station official at the control unit will be able to confirm that the vote has been recorded because they will hear an audible "bleep" from the machine.
Each vote is recorded randomly in the "ballot module" which stores the information, allowing no link between the marked register of electors and the votes recorded in the voting machine.
With privacy in mind the machines will be positioned facing a wall or screen to give the same level of privacy as under the old system. Anyone finding the machines difficult may ask staff for help but staff are not permitted, except in limited circumstances, to accompany voters at the machine while they are voting.
The Department is reluctant to be drawn on exactly when the results will be known in the three constituencies, which have two count centres - Navan and CityWest outside Dublin. The distance from the polling stations and the possibility of anything going wrong makes it difficult to predict.
When the polling station closes at 10.30 p.m. it will take around half an hour to retrieve the "ballot module" from voting machines and get them to the count centres.
Here the module will be placed into an electronic device which reads the information. This will be downloaded into a computer which shuffles the votes so the precise vote from each polling station cannot be identified. After that the count is supposed to take a computer a few minutes. However, some pessimistic estimates say it could be 2 a.m. before the results are known.
The Department says this type of voting machine has been used successfully for many years in Holland and Germany.
The first result is expected from Dublin West as it is close to the count centre and has the smallest electorate of 52,161 people. This compares to 71,679 in Dublin North and 107,894 in Meath.
The returning officer will have documentation on each count, consisting of a table in ballot paper order, a table of candidates in numerical order of votes received and a statement on the count showing their position and proposed action in relation to distribution of surplus or elimination. This will be distributed to candidates, election agents and the media.
The Department said a formal recount would not be possible.