There are certainly different opinions about the merits of computer voting. El Caribe reports that Citizen Participation’s executive director, Javier Cabrera, is against the idea since he feels that the country is not ready for such modern equipment. He cited the high levels of illiteracy as a major limiting factor for the voting public. Cabrera did, however, say that the watchdog organization was in favor of a pilot program that used the machines. Today’s Hoy carries a large photograph of President Leonel Fernandez in front of one of the voting machines during the PLD primary voting that took place on Sunday. The Organization of American States (OAS) representative in the Dominican Republic, Santiago Murrey, told reporters that he favored the use of the electronic voting machines. He argued that such machines could not only reduce the abstention rate and the blank vote, but it could also reduce electoral fraud. The OAS official came to the Dominican Republic to observe the PLD party’s primary voting, and praised the party for using the new electronic voting system for much of the process.