Minister for Environment, Mr Noel Dempsey, today gave the go-ahead for electronic voting to be tested in three constituencies at the General Election.
Mr Dempsey signed an order allowing electronic voting in Dublin North, Dublin West and Meath. The Government hopes to use the system nationwide in the 2004 local government elections.
Some politicians had urged the Minister to refrain from introducing the system saying it would cause confusion and lead to long queues.
Mr Dempsey said those politicians opposing the introduction of electronic voting were "insulting the electorate".
Voters in the relevant polling stations will face a machine displaying a ballot paper with a button beside each line. The line will contain the name, photograph and party emblem, if any, of each candidate.
Voters will select candidates in order of preference by pushing the buttons. When polls close at 9 p.m., the electronic "modules" in each voting machine in polling stations will be removed and transported to a central count centre.
The results from these three constituencies will be known before counting in the other 39 constituencies begins the following morning.
