Whats wrong with our counting system?

Today is Wednesday evening and it really looks like we’ll not have a result from Midlands North West Constituency until Friday morning! I’m hearing that the Germans had the results from 30 million voters very quickly. They would wouldn't they! Bet there was no craic at their count!!

Anyway, regardless of everything, there is obviously a serious problem in Ireland with the preparation of results from our elections! We have a wonderful system of Proportional Representation using a single transferable vote which provides for   great fun and entertainment! As an admirer of it I want the blood sport to continue. However by the same token I realise the system is damaged. We probably should improve it! Not for the Germans, nor for that matter the benefit of any nation, other than ourselves! We deserve it, because as a nation, we are politically more savvy than most. Some will correctly say, “our counts should be primarily about getting results.” “To hell with the fun! “ (German influence again!!)

There is a feeling out there that we are presenting ourselves poorly to our neighbours in Europe and we are becoming the laughing stock of Europe. The D4 heads are worried about us and how we appear! So what? We had a leader one time who tried to look the business in Paris with his Charvet shirts etc etc! Part of the problem lads. Appearance over substance!

It’s not just a Republic of Ireland thing either! I read a piece recently on the BBC website about the manual counting of votes system in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland's chief electoral officer Graham Shields wants future elections to use an electronic counting system. He claims that there is technology that would allow the  process to be completed in a matter of hours rather than days. "Mr Shields said the system allows ballots to be read and calculated by a computer instead of being counted by hand. He claims it had been used  in Scottish local elections since 2007 and that it was "very, very efficient".

The system would he claims be “a bit more expensive than running a manual count". I have a fear that we have become too monetary in our outlook . Money talks!

Now back to reality what did Bertie say? Over seven years ago “ Ireland is the laughing stock of Europe because voters still use pencils in elections, an "embarrassed" Taoiseach Bertie Ahern  told the Dáil!! If that’s all that was embarrassing the yellow trouser wearing Taoiseach we were so lucky weren't we! What about the financial crisis?? What about meltdown, free fall?? No, pencils, pencils yeah the good old HB Faber and Castell pencil is what upset Bertie!!  

The children in my class would answer “Sir, solution, what’s the solution to this problem you pose?” We know that problems are only things we need to solve, be they, how to change the tadpoles water without losing any tadpoles or even how do we share 47 buns between 7 people? Life is full of problems which we love to highlight, solve them now that’s another story!

In fairness to Bertie he did propose a solution, in fact Martin Cullen was left holding the Noel Dempsey baby! Yes those wonderful electronic voting machines! If I’m correct in my recollection, Noel Dempsey as Minister for Environment and Local Government put the wheels in motion and Martin Cullen followed it through! I have a figure of €54 million in my mind for those things! I think they realised less than a million when they were finally scrapped!

The problem was that they could not be guaranteed to be safe from tampering.   They could not produce a printout so the votes/results could be double-checked. In a nation where the electorate are politically savvy that’s a kind of important issue that needs to be resolved before any tender is agreed forget about contract signed!

 I was at a road show in Dublin Castle years ago to see them in operation! They looked the business however like lots from that era it was appearance over substance! Fur coat.. you might say!

So solve it Rural Rossie!

Well firstly we have wonderful counters and returning officers in the country who work loyally and honestly at all counts! They put in a massive effort and as one reminded me. “Hugh I have to think of my own job, I was here on 2 days annual leave” She is a staff member of the Courts Service and as the recount was becoming obvious she was unable to commit. (Scales  of Justice must balance too). These counts are run by volunteers and it takes time. They do a great job as it’s the political masters who must put the system in place.

My proposal is we continue with Bertie’s pencil and paper but we use electronic counting of the votes. We can’t trust the voting  machines at the moment. What we’ll get is, results with a paper trail, a quicker result and we’ll be able to stand over it. What more do we want?

Well I suppose the great thing we have in Ireland is common sense in elections. We have the “doubtful” votes pile which are checked by officials and candidates before they are judged to be spoilt votes. In any electronic counting system the votes that may be doubtful must be checked by humans as we do at the moment! (Can’t have a German type application of a black and white rule on doubtful votes.)

That was as far as I know the only issue Scotland has had with its system which it introduced in 2007!

Will Roscommon South Leitrim By-election be the last manual count in Ireland???

Nien! I hope not! 

(Revised! First Draft was too wordy! Second Draft hard to read and third still not correct! )