How safe is your vote..?

Someone else

5 years go my son lifted the lid on a ballot box that hadn't been locked in any way shape or form. The lack of urgency was to say the least surprising.

During the day I returned to the polling station where the supervising officer lied in the presence of a Garda (he admitted it when under pressure) what I realised at that point was that all the ballot boxes were "sealed" with standard cable ties.


I followed up with several calls to the Gardai & others. I also attended another polling station nearby and once again they were not locked. I was chatting to the staff in that room when the supervisor came in like a bulldog chewing a wasp shouting was I voting there etc. She ran off to call the Gardai on me. I waited outside, explained to the Garda & left. (a few months later I met the same Garda & he asked was that me etc. He also said, you were right they weren't locked.)

So this went on with me following up with many calls & even visiting the Cork county sheriff who was the returning officer. He turned his back on me and left saying he had to meet his accountant....!!

This was not exclusive to Cork as there was a picture in the press of Gerry Adams voting in a ballot box in Louth with a standard cable tie.

So this happened in the following two referenda and once again I was a thorn.... I even visited a barrister following the judges pay referenda, he explained that it'd be €5000 for the high court, train fares & €1000 for him. I hadn't got the train fare so that was the end of that.

Eventually I threatened the franchise office in the Dept of Enviornment that I'd turn up to the next election/referenda with pre cut cable ties, write on the voting paper >>>

"These are the original seals off the box. The box was opened and ballots interfered with and this is one of hundreds nationwide. I'm acting as whistle blower"

That caught his attention and he even suggested he'd have me arrested and charged if i did it.

So, what did I want....? Very simple effective and foolproof way of ensuring the boxes and ballots were not interfered with. I've never suggested for a moment that papers could be added however the simple fact is that they could be spoiled or extra votes added to incomplete papers.

Answer - SERIAL NUMBERED CABLE TIES.

So the last two occasions I've voted the boxes in lots of the media photos nationwide and in my own polling station have been sealed with serial numbered ties.

RESULT......

WELL NO.....

So I was sitting there one evening watching the counts and it occurred to me.....

Do they check the serial number that went on at the start of polling was the same one that was cut off before counting.
In typical Irish fashion, the answer was NO

I've FOI'd information form the Dept and I was given a list of returning officers nationwide who I also FOI'd

The majority of returning officers ignored my request, the dept doesn't have any information on the sealing and several returning officers told me that either they don't check, it'd be too time consuming/costly or the sealing of the ballot box is not subject to FOI and the sealing is a matter for the returning officer ONLY.... ?!! There were other answers too...
I have several items in writing via the FOI, however I'm not sure how to post them here..??

Is it too much to ask that our important votes are properly looked after and not potentially interfered with.


Remember why we couldn't use the electronic voting machines in Ireland.....