RE: Piedmont Election

["Ken Clark" <ken@gesn.com>]

> Here is a quick
> question, if I programmed memory cards in version 1.5.4.1 and we
> already scanned all absentee ballots, will I be able to upload
> these results into 1.5.10.1???

Hi Jeff.  You never have to reprogram memory cards or re-print artwork after an upgrade unless we very explicitly say so in the announcement.  Typically, if mem cards were to need reprogramming, it is going to be because the mem cards burned with a previous release are bogus, and the upgrade fixed something with download.  The upgrades themselves are designed to leave the database intact from an election-integrity point of view, and don't by themselves cause mem cards to require reprogramming.

Having said that, there was a short warning in the 1.5.8 announcement.  It read:

> The reset mem card bug is potentially serious, but 
>     probably won't effect anyone.  Memory cards were not being reset to not 
>     programmed when exiting election mode, and as a result the version number 
>     would not be incremented when they were reprogrammed after entering 
>     again.  Just make sure all your memory cards have been reprogrammed 
>     since the last time you entered election mode, and you will be 
> okay.

So, if you have programmed all your memory cards since the last time you entered election mode, you are okay. This is the normal proceedure, of course. 

 

The bug was that GEMS was not tracking the case where one forgot to reprogram memory cards after the last set-for-election.  In this case the memory cards would normally show up as "Not Programmed" in the download and upload dialogs, but this was not working in 1.5.7.  Hence, the download version could be wrong and you might upload memory cards that were created before the last set-for-election, and could thus potentially have the incorrect election data because of changes made to the database.

 

From a practical standpoint this is all acedemic for Piedmont.  The database hasn't changed, and you programmed all your cards after the last set-for-election.  Some other election systems that come to mind wouldn't have tracked the election integrity change with versioning in the first place :-).

 

To answer the question of whether to run 1.5.10 or 1.5.4, I am going to go out on a limb and say run 1.5.10.  Certainly run 1.5.10 if you were intending to run 1.5.9 before yesterday, since the change to 1.5.10 was two lines.  1.5.4 has the potential of crashing when printing summary reports, and definately can't print HTML.  Of course, let your own instincts and testing make the final decision.

 

Finally, Jeff, I would like to say that you have done an excellent job with the Piedmont election.  Good luck today.

 

Ken