1200 voting machines in the Netherlands withdrawn from use

In the run-up to next month’s general election in the Netherlands, the government has withdrawn the licences for 1200 electronic voting machines, about 10% of the total in the country, after it was discovered that the radio signals produced by one particular type of machine can be received several tens of metres away, meaning that voter secrecy cannot be guaranteed. The rest of the electronic voting machines, produced by other manufacturers, are not affected.

Voters in Amsterdam will now have to vote the old-fashioned way, with a pencil and paper, while 34 other muncipalities will have the choice of using pencil and paper or installing alternative voting machines.

Source: Media Network Weblog, 30 October 2006