Database problems may be losing ballots

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

Citizen B. Higgs had a devil of a time getting his ballot, because, as we found out, his main email addresses were blocking the Database emails altogether - and even a Gmail account was throwing it into spam. Here is his explanation

the script that builds the mailout includes references to php scripts in both full url and local path, which looks like something a hack would do. My server is setup as promiscuous and it managed to completely blackhole it. gmail probably thought about doing that but instead just spammed it after enumerating the source.  So fix the template.
so in the html template check where it links to things and make sure they always link to https://URL  rather than just URL like bills.php or cit.php
https://talossa.com/blah.php etc
done, online.
you know you could just link the vote page repopulated with a UUID that links to the citizen ID etc. easier than cutting and pasting, since it's in the email anyway.

I don't understand half of the above, but it looks like the Database is currently not fit for purpose and needs to be fixed (or replaced) post election. Add another reason why election turnout is falling (which, sorry to disappoint some fibbers out there, is not my personal fault)

[Glüc]

The Chancery is aware of this. Fwiw, a mail was sent out (not from the database) to all citizens who hadnt voted on July 27th reminding them of the election (of course I cant rule out this has also gone in spam here and there, but I suspect no more often than usual and I highly doubt it has been blocked alltogether), so that should salvage the situation at least somewhat.

Also, from what I understand, mpf is working on fixing the issues (with some help of comments Bradley made that I forwarded to him).

With regards to turnout, I expected it to decrease, but currently it looks like it might be roughly the same, or even slightly higher.
Of course that is compared to a pretty low bar as turnout last election was devastatingly bad (and email problems then were significantly fewer than the election before that, which in turn had worse turnout than the election before that).

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

I maintain that the turnout crashed in the last election because the RUMP weren't on the ballot, and a good proportion of voters just didn't know what to do in that event.

[Glüc]

Update: it appears that mpf has fixed the ballot to make it less likely to be blocked. I sent out a new round of ballot emails and I've already heard from one voter who didn't get the ballot before, but got it now, so that is a good sign.


Also, with regards to turnout: we're now definitely going to pass last year's turnout. The question now seems to be whether we can beat the turnout of the election before (which at the time was disappointing, but not awful, and would now considering the current circumstances be quite decent).

[Baron Alexandreu Davinescu]

Also, with regards to turnout: we're now definitely going to pass last year's turnout. The question now seems to be whether we can beat the turnout of the election before (which at the time was disappointing, but not awful, and would now considering the current circumstances be quite decent).

That's great! Hopefully we can beat the election before last!

[Miestră Schivă, UrN-GC]

Sorting out the ballot problems seems to have really helped: for this we have to thank citizen B. Higgs who diagnosed the problem, and the prompt effort of the SOS and MPF to fix it.

Another issue is that centre-Right turnout has massively increased. I see the Ventrútx clan have all voted, when they inexplicably abstained from the last election in which their patriarch was a party leader and Senäts candidate. I credit this to good leadership of the LCC from Senator Plätschisch, as opposed to the abdication of leadership last time; a good GOTV among ex-Rumpers by Sir Cresti; and of course myself, for putting constitutional reform squarely on the agenda, thus making the difference between the various parties crystal clear.

[Glüc]

We're now 1 vote ahead of the 53rd Cosa election.