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I went along to the voting station today, handed in my voting card, with its identifying number, and received a ballot from the official.

I went to the private booth–no curtains this year !! - and filled out my voting preferences and then folded the ballot, showing the back of it to the official and deposited it in the box.

All OK….except that there was a number on the back of the ballot.  A different number for each ballot, it seems. And each ballot will be examined later by a “tally man”, or a few tally men, from various political parties. Of course, my  name isn’t on the ballot, only a unique number. And that number was given to me by a chap who could hardly be expected to remember my name, could he? Although, if he wanted to….he wouldn’t have to record my name against the ballot number, but only my voting card number, or indeed only the last few digits of the voting card number. In fact, given that the ballots are torn out of a ballot book, then stamped and given to the voter, all the tally men really need to know was whether a particular voting card number was given the top ballot from a particular book, or the third one, tenth, forty-seventh, etc. (if they have access to the voters’ registration book or list) 

 After the count, which can go on for days, all documents- ballots, voting cards, ballot book stubs, etc., are sealed in plastic bags and returned to the Clerk of the Dail, who must destroy them after six months, unless he has good reason not to. Your name and address, your voting card identifier and number, your ballot stub, your ballot, with unique number, containing your votes and preferences–and what more?- are there under the control of the Clerk, and no doubt he keeps them securely (- although I’m not sure that he’s even legally obliged to keep them secure !)

 Let me be very clear about this…I am not saying that any official or any politician’s helper is engaging in any surveillance of any sort….All I am wondering out loud is: Do we have to have numbers on the ballot papers and Is the system “hackable” ?

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