$87.4 million spent to import ballot paper for last four elections: ... But $53.7 million gone down the drain because of low voter turnout.

According to data from the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ), the country spent $87.4 million on importing special templates for printing ballots in the last four elections. However, $53.7 million of that cost was wasted due to low voter turnout, resulting in 5.1 million discarded ballots out of 8.3 million imported. Some experts suggest modernizing the voting system through electronic voting to reduce costs and environmental impact, but concerns about trust and high costs remain. In other news, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is urging countries in the Americas, including the Caribbean, to intensify efforts to combat tuberculosis (TB) on World Tuberculosis Day. TB is the second leading cause of death from a single infectious agent worldwide, with approximately 325,000 cases and 35,000 deaths in the Americas in 2023. PAHO recommends the use of innovative technologies and increased investment and collaboration to eliminate TB by 2030. [Extracted from the article]