Gee, I think I'll disappear in Mexico, too!
Currently, we can import results from BRC and Imark systems, ie. results are
uploaded from those vendors' voting devices to their respective software, then
results are exported to GEMS. We do not support the upload directly from
any other vendors' voting devices to GEMS.
Nel
Ouch. I am leaving for Mexico this evening. I may just stay there.
Even one better, I have been hearing that
election administrators are considering purchasing TS for early voting
in person and only one TS per election day polling place and continuing to
use their precinct count election day op scan whatever the vendor. To
stay in that market, we would therefore be in a situation where the
"blended" system would include third-party election equipment which equals
election night third party data upload into GEMS along side the election
night TS results. How many third-party systems do we currently
interface with via imports/exports?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Lesley Koop Thompson Customer Service Project Manager Diebold
Election Systems, Inc. 415-235-6553 (office cell) 512-413-7618
(cell) lesley@dieboldes.com
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, January 24, 2003 11:54
AM
Subject: RE: AVOS/TS blended system
uploads
I think we need to plan on most customers having both OS and TS in
the future. Most counties will need at least one OS to count Absentee
ballots, and at least one TS to meet ADA requirements. This is what we did
in Georgia. I don't think this will go away any time
soon.
Karen Stubblefield-Emery Customer Service
Specialist Diebold Election Systems
Phone: 972-542-6000
x166 Email: karen@dieboldes.com
Ken,
Unsolicited comments welcome. I do agree with most of the points
in your message. I do not look forward to making it
work. However, the counties are required to adopt an ADA compliant fix
at the precinct level. Most of those that have our OS system are going
to go with a blended system, at least in the near term.
Many have only recently purchased our OS and trained their staff,
voters, and pollworkers. They have been assured that it will work
in conjunction with our TS to satisfy ADA. I doubt they
will nullify that expenditure and make themselves look * by
quickly replacing it with TS (unless we offer them some
very appealing incentives). Also, many of our older customers do
not want to leave the OS world, and they will only purchase the TS as
forced to.
Hopefully, the ADA requirements and the concerns you point out
about maintaining two systems will lead them all down the path to full
TS. A few are already looking in that direction. But,
blended systems are here for a while at least. If we make it work for
them (no fun in the support world), then they will
likely stay with us if/when they go full TS. If our blended
system has major problems, they will likely still go full TS, but
with another vendor.
Mark
There has
never been even a small-scale test of this kind, to my
knowledge.
My
unsolicited two cents is that this is a crazy way to run an
election. Expecting jurisdictions to train for and administer
two systems is just nuts. It is the worst of a paper-based
election with the worst of an electronic election. I wouldn’t
worry too much about whether GEMS can receive results from two systems
simultaneously. Even if that were the case, we could always fix
GEMS. I’d be worried about whether poll workers can send
them.
Ken
-----Original
Message----- From:
owner-support@dieboldes.com [mailto:owner-support@dieboldes.com]
On Behalf Of Mark
Earley Sent:
Thursday, January 23, 2003 4:31 PM To: Support Subject: AVOS/TS blended system
uploads
With the
new ADA requirements facing our OS customers, they will likely be
knocking on our door to purchase TS units to compliment their existing
OS systems with one TS unit in each precinct - coexisting with
the OS units in a blended system. While there are some problems with
programming such a system (namely needing to have another Vote Center
category created for the TS units), these are hurdles that can be
managed (I guess they can - does anyone have thoughts on this?).
My bigger concern is handling the uploading of both TS and OS results
via modem into the GEMS server.
What are
the known issues relating to upload? I know that TS uses RAS
while OS uses regular serial com ports, thus the need for separate
modem banks. Can GEMS receive modem uploads from both OS and TS units
at the same time? Has this been tested in any kind of a medium to
large scale test? Does anyone have any experience with receiving both
TS and OS modem uploads?
Mark
Earley
850
422-2100 - office/fax
850
322-3226 – cell
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