VAC and water

["James Rellinger" <jamesrellinger@dieboldes.com>]

Team;

 

    As a matter of QC, we in Georgia acceptance tested all of our Voter Access Cards.  During the testing, we bundled them into groups of 20 to ease the deployment process.  The grouping was done using regular office scotch tape.

 

    We discovered that the tape was adhering so well to the cards that a gummy residue was being left on the cards.  This gum was causing extreme friction when placing and removing them from the encoder.  We immediately stopped using scotch tape and changed to rubber bands.

 

    Now, we have several hundred VACs that need to be cleaned.  We plan to use a citrus-based gum remover to remove the gum and then rinse them all with mild soap and water.

 

    Our concerns are these:

 

• Can the chip be damaged by the citrus cleaner?
• Can the chip be damaged by mild soap and water?
• Can the chip withstand a 20 minute deep soaking in a citrus cleaner?
• Can the chip withstand a dishpan-style soap and water rinse?
• Does the risk of chip failure plus the man-hours paid to restore the cards justify a discarding and replacement of an approximate 1500 cards.

 

   

 

Best Regards,
James P. Rellinger, MCSE

Manager of Engineering, Georgia Operations
Diebold Election Systems

(770) 231-6468

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