Nevada Democrats debut to volunteers new iPad-based 'tool' to calculate math on Caucus Day

[OnDoutside]

in the wake of Iowa fiasco....what could possibly go wrong ?

Link to tweet

Nevada Democrats are planning to use a new caucus tool that will be preloaded onto iPads and distributed to precinct chairs to help facilitate the Caucus Day process, according to multiple volunteers and a video recording of a volunteer training session on Saturday.

The new tool will help precinct chairs fold in the results from people in their precinct who chose to caucus early with the preferences of in-person attendees on Caucus Day by calculating the viability threshold and carrying out the two alignments in the caucus process, according to the volunteers and the video recording. Details about the tool come two days after Nevada Democrats said that they would not use any apps for their Feb. 22 caucus after a coding error in a similar program used by Iowa Democrats delayed the release of results from that state’s nominating contest earlier this week.

In the video, a party staffer tells volunteers that the new mechanism “is not an app” but should be thought of as “a tool.”

“What we’ve done after Iowa is consult with a group of tech and security folks who are helping us through this process and making sure that we’re doing this in a way that is simple and efficient and secure for all of you so that we’re giving you the best tools we can possible on Caucus Day,” the staffer said. The new tool will “flow your precinct early vote data, so that you can have the information for your precinct caucus, so that when you do your viability calculations, you’re able to get the number of people who voted early and then when you see the results of your first alignment, you’re able to key in that early vote information so that you have every piece of information you need to run your precinct caucus.”

Asked by a volunteer how results would be transmitted from one place to another, the staffer demurred.

“Those are all excellent questions, and we’re still working out some of the details around those so I’ll make sure that everyone has more information as we’re able to share it,” she said.

More at

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/nevada-democrats-debut-to-volunteers-new-ipad-based-tool-to-calculate-math-on-caucus-day-in-the-wake-of-iowa-fiasco

[Me.]

1. Dear God

[frazzled]

2. What the ?

What's wrong with these caucus states? They've had four years to work on plans. Why are they developing or taking on new technologies only at the last moment? There should be no changes to voting systems or technologies for at least a 6-month period before any election, imo.

How much training is required to be a "volunteer"? It sounds from this article that the training was entirely deficient.

And even in non-caucus states, why is it sometimes so hard to transmit precinct data to a central site? (Sometimes, I imagine, it is because there is a dispute among the poll watchers that causes a delay; sometimes a discrepancy.) But really, precincts are small—the average size is approx. 1,100 voters, and in a primary, much less than that because turnout is usually between 15-35%.

[OnDoutside]

3. It really is staggering, even after what they learnt from 2016.

[MH1]

4. Why not just use Excel or the Google Drive spreadsheet app?

Is it not possible for a savvy Excel user to secure the data in those while making it accessible as needed?

Maybe I'm missing something. I see the value in a dedicated app, sure - IF and only if, it is sufficiently tested. Since they had planned to use the Iowa app and had to scrap that so close to the voting - why not just come up with a process solution using existing, common tools? This ain't f*cking rocket science, people.

(but dear god, they MUST use iPads? Perhaps therein lies some of the problem.)

[denem]

5. It's been stressed tested right? And the precincts have received training right?

WTF?

[SMC22307]

6. "we're still working out some of the details"

OMFG. (Where the $*is the *&%^#%@ facepalm smilie?!)