[Date Prev][Date Next] [Chronological] [Thread] [Top]

# Information on simultaneously touching 2 positions on the ballot station

- To: <Salestalk@dieboldes.com>
- Subject: Information on simultaneously touching 2 positions on the ballot station
- From: "Larry Dix" <ljdglobal@dieboldes.com>
- Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2001 14:44:46 -0500
- Importance: Normal

This posting is to clear up some confusion that has been reported in regards to simultaneously touching 2 positions on the ballot station and having the vote assigned to another candidate.

I am told that this has been a long known issue, but it was reported by sales and support while demonstrating at Travis County, Texas. It is not a bug or something that can be fixed by software, but rather an issue of how a resistive touch screen operates, regardless of the manufacturer or vendor. This is a procedural issue that needs to be explained to the support and sales staff. By definition, a resistive touch screen when touched in 2 locations will calculate the resistance and find a median point.

Here is the scenario:

You have a ballot with a race of 5 candidates that allows you to vote for one. Two candidates are touched simultaneously and the vote is registered for the candidate between the 2 that were touched. This is the normal action for a resistive touch panel, but can cause concern. This is something that IT people like to point out and say that our system is flawed. Wrong, all resistive touch screens react in this manner. This will happen on a R6 running CE, I can duplicate on an R5 under NT and a R4 under Windows 98, but the OS has nothing to do with this issue.

I am sure this will be making the rounds with our competitors. Hart will say that is why they have the wheel, ES&S will say that is why they have a stylus. It would be quite interesting if we could try this on a competitors screen, given the opportunity.

A good item to be tried at IACREOT.

Larry J. Dix

Vice President of Operations

Global Election Systems

- Prev by Date: Competitors brochure
- Next by Date: Don Biz
- Index(es):
  - Chronological
  - Thread