Technology can help ease the voting process

WITH at least one general election and a presidential election in 2011 and the possibility of another Lisbon referendum and an abortion referendum in 2011 the cost to the taxpayer for the logistics of organising such elections must be addressed in the context of our current financial constraints.

In 2009, Comreg reported that there were five million mobile phones in Ireland for a population of 4.2 million. The referendums should be decided by text vote which would not alone cut down on the vast expense of organising a ballot but could also be used to generate some capital for overseas aid funding.

Mobile numbers and addresses would be cross referenced with the voting register. Election officers wasted throughout the polling day with low turnouts could assist voters register for the service. One polling station could be opened in county towns to facilitate voters who wished to vote the traditional way but their mobile phones would still be charged. There would be no need to hire expensive counting centres, employ thousands of counters or have gardaí on overtime. A cost of three cents would be attached to all votes made by SMS whether the vote was used or not, thus penalising any one who refused to exercise their democratic franchise. In 2007 2,085,245 votes were cast and this would have generated over €60,000 to fund the voting process. There are many older citizens that do not have a mobile phone and free postal voting should be offered to these citizens.