[E-voting] Bertie: Lack of e-voting a disgrace

[Nick Hilliard]

Casey, Dermot (GE Money) wrote:
> Either 
> 1) Bertie still doesn't have a clue about technology and the associated risks
> 2) He does get it and is bemoaning the opportunity to rig the elections ....

I don't think that either of these scenarios are accurate.  Bertie has two 
problems.  Firstly, he has a political agenda to push, namely that Ireland 
is a technologically advanced society, and a functional electronic voting 
system forms part of this policy (for a loose definition of "functional").

Secondly, he desperately needs the problem to go away. It's a thorn in the 
government's side that they have spent a very large amount of money and 
have nothing to show for it, except a warehouse full of expensive doorstops.

Scrapping the current system means writing off a very large amount of 
money, which they are reluctant to do because that will leave lots of egg 
on their faces.  Conversely, no-one appears to be able to make the current 
system work satisfactorily or come up with a good justification as to how 
it could be made work well in the future, so we end up with stalemate. 
The e-voting machines remain in the Curragh, and all Bertie can do is come 
out with feeble catchphrases blaming other people for the mess that his 
government has created.

Strong leadership is required here, and I can't see that happening during 
the lifetime of this government.

Nick