NIALL O'DONOGHUE,
Madam, - James Beatty (December 17th) makes some valid points about the fallibility of computer systems.
However, it would be naïve to assume that the developers of an electronic voting system would not ensure robust integrity and security in terms of protecting its source programs, data-bases and operational infrastructure. There are strong encryption technologies and rapid recovery systems that make it very difficult to tamper with a system or induce failure.
Misrepresentation and multiple voting is a problem in a manual voting system; the result is hardly democratic. An electronic voting system would ensure a more democratic result since it would permit only eligible voters to vote only once. Inaccurate vote counting is also a problem in a manual system, while electronic voting can verify the integrity of the vote tally. Significantly, an electronic voting system could finally get rid of that ridiculous requirement in Irish elections to travel to your own constituency to cast your vote.
Lastly, it should not surprise anyone that there is no such thing as perfect software, even in critical applications like the airline industry. And it was human incompetence and malpractice, for lack of voting technology, that caused the vote recount fiasco in the US presidential election of 2000. Voters in Florida are now pushing for a US-wide electronic voting system. - Yours, etc.
NIALL O'DONOGHUE, Narva, Finland.