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# GEMS 1.11.2 preference voting errors

- To: "Bug Tracking" <bugtrack@dieboldes.com>
- Subject: GEMS 1.11.2 preference voting errors
- From: "Nel Finberg" <nel@dieboldes.com>
- Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 13:47:40 -0700

Election with preference race An election is defined with a preference race with Republican, Democrat and Unaffiliated voter groups, followed by Democrat, Republican and Unaffiliated candidacies, followed by a non-partisan amendment and candidacy. Each candidacy is vote for one and is defined with a write-in space; the write-in tally rule is override. The election is set up to reject ballots for all possible rejection conditions as well as print corresponding override messages. 1.94p firmware is employed. Ballot rejection Ballots are returned with a blank ballot return message if the preference race is not marked. Isn't the preference race optional? A candidate and write-in selected in a vote for one race are returned as overvoted, even though the override write-in rule should effect the selection of the write-in only. If the first partisan race following the preference race is overvoted the race is returned as overvoted where a political party different from that of the party endorsing the partisan race is selected in the preference race. A ballot is rejected with the preference race and first partisan candidacy as blank and multi-party votes in all three partisan candidacies where the preference race has been left blank and candidates selected in all three partisan races. Since all three races should be discarded as blank (due to multi-party overvote, there should either be a blank race return message for all three candidacies or none at all (since the three partisan candidacies are already being returned due to multi-party votes). Tallying Candidacies marked with a candidate as well as a write-in are being tallied as overvoted even though they should be tallied as write-in using the override write-in rule. The Republican party is selected in the preference race, one candidate in the Democrat candidacy and no candidates in either the Republican or Unaffiliated candidacies - the Democrat candidate marked on the ballot is tallied even though the Democrat candidacy should be tallied as blank voted. The Democrat party is selected in the preference race, two candidates in each of the vote for one Democrat and Republican candidacies and a candidate and write-in in the Unaffiliated candidacy. The Democrat candidacy should be logged with an overvote and the Republican and Unaffiliated candidacies with blank votes, yet all three partisan candidacies are returned as blank voted. Conditions I understand the preference race to conform to the following logic in a closed primary (all races on a single ballot): I f no selection is made in the preference race and only selections are made in partisan races endorsed by one party, all partisan race choices are considered. If no selection is made in the preference race and selections are made in races belonging to more than one political party, all partisan race choices are discarded. If a valid selection is made in the preference race only the results of races endorsed by the political party selected in the preference race are taken. I understand the override write-in tally rule to cause only write-in selections to be taken in a race in which the combination of candidate and write-in selections cause an overvote. Nel Finberg

- Follow-Ups:
  - RE: GEMS 1.11.2 preference voting errors
    - From: "Ken Clark" <ken@dieboldes.com>
  - RE: GEMS 1.11.2 preference voting errors
    - From: "Ken Clark" <ken@dieboldes.com>

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