Скачать или смотреть Amid hacking and false news fears, Dutch to hand-count vote

Alarmed that hackers, false news and state-backed propaganda could try to influence or tamper with the results of next month's national election, the Dutch government has decided to count all ballots the old-fashioned way: with pen and paper.

"The cabinet cannot exclude the possibility that state actors might gain advantage from influencing political decision-making and public opinion in the Netherlands and might use means to try and achieve such influence,” Interior Minister Ronald Plasterk said in a letter sent to the Dutch parliament late Wednesday. "We’re talking about actors that both have the intention and ability to do this."

Paper ballots are used in Dutch elections. These are hand-counted at local voting stations before being sent to regional voting centers for computer tallying. But with warnings from intelligence agencies that Russia and ideologically-driven fringe groups may seek to meddle in upcoming political contests in the Netherlands, France and Germany, the Dutch vote on March 15 will rely exclusively on a manual count.

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"No shadow of a doubt can be allowed to hang over the result," Plasterk, who said the move was prompted by fears over computer software "vulnerabilities," told parliament.