MICHAEL McCABE,
Sir, - After a vote against management Vivendi Universal announced earlier this year that its electronic shareholder voting system, which it had adopted to tabulate votes efficiently and securely, had been broken into by hackers.
Because the new system eliminated the old paper ballots, recounting the votes - or even independently verifying that the attack had occurred - was impossible.
As more Dublin constituencies prepare to vote electronically, paving the way for e-voting in the future throughout Ireland, there is therefore a potential threat to a fair voting procedure.
In the run-up to the general election this year some of the major parties raised awareness of the possibility of electoral fraud, known to have been rampant in Northen Ireland in the past, becoming more widespread in the Republic.
One of the safeguards against this sort of attack on the democratic process is the recounting of votes and re-examination of the ballot papers. However inconclusive this procedure may be, it certainly offers a greater opportunity to detect vote-rigging than the lack of facility for the rechecking of votes cast electronically.
Before electronic voting is foisted upon the electorate at large, I'd like to see the relevant authorities ensure some sort of rechecking facility is put in place and, perhaps, address the concerns of those who mourn the loss of opportunity to spoil their vote as a protest against political parties in general by including a "none of the above" option. - Yours, etc.,
MICHAEL McCABE, Saint Augustine Street, Dublin 8