Malta Will Use Electronic Vote Counting in The Next Election

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The election for the European Parliament has gotten an upgrade. Yesterday the Electoral Commission unveiled the new e-counting system that has been installed in the Naxxar Counting hall. While the actual voting will still be done on paper ballots as before. Instead of being counted by hand, the new e-counting system will use a series of scanners to process the ballots.

E-counting system
The new E-counting system (Malta Today)

Developed by UK software company IDOX, who have already rolled out a similar system in Scotland. Their new e-counting system will not only reduce the chance of human error. But it will also mean that results will be able to be confirmed much faster than if they would have counted them by hand. Initial tests, the system went through 390,000 votes within six and a half hours. Making the process a matter of hours, rather than days.

In the run up to the election, the Electoral Commission will conduct more tests to ensure system accuracy when processing the large volume of ballots. The system will also be used for the general election and local council elections in 2024. If this proves to be successful, a fully electronic voting system might not be that far off.

Do you trust the new e-counting system? Let us know in the comments below?

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