Add new RCTab overvote rule: "Temporarily Inactive When Multiple Continuing"

[cpsolver]

This new overvote rule will count an overvote as temporarily inactive instead of exhausted or skipped. Then, when all but one of the overvoted candidates have been eliminated, the ballot will count for the one overvoted candidate who is still "continuing." This rule would have been very helpful in Portland's 2024 mayoral election where there were 19 candidates, only 6 "rank" columns, and a desire to rank more than 4 candidates above the two strongly-disliked, biggest-money-backed candidates. Yet such a ranking would have been counted for the candidate at rank 5, even if all the overvoted candidates in rank 4 were still continuing. The following webpage specifies exactly how this overvote rule needs to be counted, and additional reasons why this new overvote rule is needed soon.

https://htmlpreview.github.io/?https://github.com/cpsolver/VoteFair-ranking-cpp/blob/master/rctab_new_overvote_rule.html

[cpsolver]

Here are edited versions of the "develop" branch source files that implement this "count overvote when single continuing" option:

https://votefair.org/rctab_code_refinement/Tabulator.java

https://votefair.org/rctab_code_refinement/ContestConfig.java

https://votefair.org/rctab_code_refinement/GuiConfigController.java

I am not submitting these edits through the usual git/GitHub process because I have not yet been able to test these edits, which is because I have not yet been able to compile and build the RCTab software from the source code. I suspect the Gradle "wrapper" files in the "develop" branch do not yet support Debian Linux, which is what I'm running on my PC. (FYI this year I abandoned my Windows PC because Microsoft abandoned support for Windows 10, and version 11 is very unacceptable for multiple reasons.) Also, at my age, 75, there is a possibility I won't be around long enough to finish the testing portion of this feature addition.

If these edits do not break any existing tests, please consider creating a feature branch for this issue, preferably using a descriptive name such as "add-overvote-rule-count-when-single-continuing". Then, if or when I'm able to compile and build the RCTab source code, I'll be happy to generate the test files that formally test these source-code edits (using the test scenario referenced in the issue description). Thanks!

[artoonie]

Hi @cpsolver, thanks for the files! RCTab should be able to run and compile on Debian. Indeed, our Github Actions tests run an Ubuntu build on every push. Are you receiving an error when compiling?

[cpsolver]

The problematic errors are JavaFX dependency errors. The GradleW "plugin" that's supposed to retrieve JavaFX files fails to find the files, or might be failing to provide needed authentication. The IDEA IDE has an option to indicate JavaFX dependency but it doesn't successfully handle the dependency. Those IDE error messages did point to an online location for the JavaFX files. I downloaded those but they yield an error about not being compiled with the correct version (of Java presumably). Ideally I'd like to compile and build without the IDE. I'm using the Raspberry Pi OS running on a Raspberry Pi 5 PC. Thank you @artoonie for any assistance!

FWIW I've done lots of coding in multiple languages (since starting in 1969) but I'm new to Java dependency issues. I learned and tried Java programming years ago but didn't like its slowness and its object-oriented limitations and its library dependencies. My favorite languages are C with no dependencies for numeric processing (compiled as C++ and using a few lines of C++ for I/O), and the Dashrep language for interactive web apps and text manipulation. I created the Dashrep language (documented at Dashrep.org) and wrote the compiler in Dashrep, but that doesn't have library dependencies because high-level lists/maps/etc are built into the language. I've been spending time learning about JavaFX dependency errors, but so far none of the workarounds have worked. Again, thanks!

[cpsolver]

After discovering that even the pre-compiled/executable version of RCTab does not run on my Raspberry Pi 5 (Debian Linux) operating system, I've installed the latest Ubuntu on an old PC. I'm debugging the feature code on that PC, using IDEA rather than directly using Gradlew. Thank you for your hint that Ubuntu is what you use to test the Linux version of RCTab.

Currently my modified code fails 3 existing tests. I'm debugging those, and creating a new test for the new overvote rule. When that's working I'll submit a pull request.

In the meantime, because of my age and health I've put current versions of the modified files here:

https://votefair.org/rctab_code_refinement/GuiConfigLayout.fxml

https://votefair.org/rctab_code_refinement/GuiConfigController.java

https://votefair.org/rctab_code_refinement/CastVoteRecord.java

https://votefair.org/rctab_code_refinement/ContestConfig.java

https://votefair.org/rctab_code_refinement/Tabulator.java (has bugs)

[cpsolver]

The new feature 972 branch is now on GitHub at:

https://github.com/cpsolver/RCTabPlus.git

Most of the coding is done except that I'm debugging these errors:

• Creating and debugging a test for the new overvote rule.
• Debugging a failure of test "nistTest2" aka "overvote skips to next rank".
• Debugging a failure of test "testClearBallotInlineComma".

The terminal command "./gradlew build" now works after the IDEA IDE automatically modified two gradle files. The feature branch shows what it changed.