€54m voting machines scrapped for €9 each
Found on Independent on Friday, 29 June 2012
Scrapping the machines brings to an end the embarrassing e-voting debacle which has cost the taxpayer more than €54m since it emerged the expensive equipment was faulty.
They could not be guaranteed to be safe from tampering. And they could not produce a printout so that votes/results could be double-checked.
The company will pay the State €70,267 for the 7,500 machines and associated equipment -- 0.13pc of the amount they have cost the State.
Replacing everything blindly with buggy systems isn't one of the brightest ideas. On the other hand, it makes it easier for politicians to cheat. Dubya would know, and Putin would probably love those machines too.