* *** COMMENTS_ON_2017_LAPTOP_TUTORIAL TXT - 15 Oct 2017  17:31:42 - JKNAUTH


Below are my comments on the laptop tutorial ("Help Table Laptop
Provisional Training - Municipal 2017 ") currently on the Precinct
Officials website.  There is also one suggestion for VAST.

1) Sometimes (not always) the tutorial locked up when I was using
   Firefox as the browser.  I didn't see the same thing when using
   Internet Explorer, but I use IE infrequently.  The lockup occurred
   when I was supposed to enter data in some field.  No cursor was shown
   in the field either before or after I clicked on the field.  Pressing
   Tab, Enter, Esc, etc. did not cure the lockup.  I had to
   shutdown/restart the browser and then rerun the tutorial from
   scratch.

2) The typed text in entry fields is very tiny.  After Enter is pressed
   and the data is redisplayed, it is shown as normal size.

3) The tutorial insists that a VRN be entered without spaces.  This is
   exactly contrary to what should be encouraged.  (Note that VAST was
   positively changed to put spaces in the displayed VRN.)  Is this just
   a shortcoming of the tutorial?  It is a trivial programming job to
   squeeze out spaces from entered data to allow a comparison with data
   that has no spaces.  The tutorial must already do some similar
   editing for comparisons since it allows optional stripping of leading
   zeros and that seems to work.  Ditto optional deleting of embedded
   zeros in entered ballot styles.  The tutorial should allow spaces in
   entered VRNs; they certainly can (and should) be put there in the
   handwritten provisional envelope field.

4) The tutorial insists that a hypen be entered when entering precinct
   numbers, even though there is a preprinted (displayed) hyphen on the
   form.  Then when you enter the required ##-##, the data does not
   display properly -- the second ## falls off the left side of its
   field.  Why not just have the user enter the first ##, then tab to
   the second field and enter its ##?

5) The two provisional envelope "Write the reason why ..." examples seem
   pretty wordy and redundant with the reason box required to be
   checked, especially the second example.  Is this intentional to catch
   a possible mischeck of the box?  I guarantee we were much more terse
   in one election where we had to handle 70+ provisional voters and
   often had long lines of people waiting for HT processing.

6) Desirable VAST enhancement:  There is a place where you have to
   switch back and forth between Street Search and Voter Info to compare
   addresses.  It would be nice if the last found Voter Search Address
   (and Voter Name) could be kept displayed simultaneously with the last
   found Street Search address to ease comparison without requiring the
   flipping back and forth.  The flipping might also be done incorrectly
   if the official presses the "Go To Voter Search" button instead of
   the "Return To Voter Info" button.  I don't have a VAST PC to see
   what problem that might cause.

Jeff