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# 3.10.1 changes

- To: <support@gesn.com>
- Subject: 3.10.1 changes
- From: "Ken Clark" <ken@gesn.com>
- Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 15:00:22 -0500
- Importance: Normal

Here is a first pass at the readme entry for 3.10.1 so people have an idea on what has changed. There are probably a few items missing. Most of the changes are really internal; the readme file is meant for user-visible changes. Despite this, there are some items in there that are really internal, but historically support people have had to "mess with" (PC term) the registry and filesystem, so some implementation level stuff is in there for your information. Countless other internal changes are not.

Most of the user visible changes actually fall under the catch all "Administrative user interface changed to behave more like the AccuVote". That item really deserves an operation manual.

The fundamental change is that the removable media is now the primary storage. The hard disk is just considered a backup for the floppy. All ballot stations are now generic -- it is only the floppy that gives the ballot station its personality. You need to create a separate floppy for each ballot station, and label each floppy. You can get multiple ballot stations for a vote center by changing the "number of memory cards" field in the GEMS vote center dialog. You can stage all disks from a few machines centrally, and then distribute to the actual voting units.

The poll book is loaded using any floppy downloaded for the vote center. The poll book doesn't require a floppy for itself during operation.

The concept of "multiple elections" on a ballot station is gone. To change elections on a machine, change the floppy. In the event of a ballot station hardware failure, eject the floppy and put it in a working machine. Archive election is also now meaningless -- use the copy election function, which duplicates the floppy. Support people should also keep safe some demo election floppies. Setting up a machine for demo should involve no more than inserting the floppy -- just like on the AccuVote.

Since the .mdb file is no longer stored on the floppy, there is no requirement for an Imation disk. A standard 1.44MB disk should suffice. I would like to hear feedback on how many typical ballots fit will fit on a 1.44MB disk. I am guessing it should be at least 5000, probably much more. This also means that we can move away from the slow floppy concept to real memory cards.

As a final note, the name of the game here is for administrators to never have to touch the registry or filesystem. If you find yourself doing that, something is seriously wrong and we need to know about it. Don't try to be clever with the internals -- that is guaranteed to cause you grief. Remember, on the AccuVote you don't even have the ability to mess with the internals of the system. Treat the AccuVote-TS the same.

Ken

3.10.1

- Version information stored for all file types.
- Eliminate ElectionName, ExportTo, and SecDir from registry.
- Hard disk label (serial number) no longer used.
- Download data stored on removable media (election.dld).
- Print floppy disk label after download. Disk contents label.txt stored on removable media.
- Removable media (floppy) used as primary storage. Results (.brs), audit (.adt), voter history (.hst) are updated on the removable media during election processing.
- Database (.mdb) and style (.sty) files no longer stored on the removable media (floppy).
- Store database and secondary data in ...\Ballot Station\ folder for Ballot Station and ...\Poll Book\ for Poll Book.
- Removed challenge result file. All ballots are now stored in the .brs file.
- Administrative user interface changed to behave more like the AccuVote.
- Eliminate archive election and transfer archives.
- Precinct and Voter Group labels are displayed in the voter instruction screen.
- Support text scale factor controlled by GEMS AccuVote-TS setup.
- Support ballot headers and footers.
- Support @precinct header macro.
- Support race headers. Limitation of one header per race group.
- Support download of host phone number and server address.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I love the smell of elections in the morning.

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