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RE: Piedmont Election
> 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