Government scraps electronic voting plans

The Government has been forced to make an embarrassing u-turn on its electronic voting plans after an independent commission said it could not recommend the introduction of such a system.

In a report published today, the Electronic Voting Commission said the system was open to potential interference and its accuracy could not be guaranteed.

Environment Minister Martin Cullen subsequently issued a statement saying that plans to introduce electronic voting in all constituencies for the local and European elections this June were being scrapped.

He said voting in all constituencies would be carried out using the existing paper ballot method.