How To Validate Petitions — Transcribing Names

Locate a petition that has not been validated yet.  It will be a petition page that is not stamped with a unique petition page number like this:

Have the petition stamped with a unique number.  The campaign will have a single numbering stamp (AKA "Bates" stamp) for this purpose.

From now until step you are responsible for this petition page.

Every petition page must have a unique number so the campaign can identify valid signatures and correlate the petition page with the correct Batch Validation report (more about that later).

1. Start a new line with your word processor and enter the petition number.
2. Double check that you have transcribed the petition number correctly.

Transcribe the name of each person who signed the petition page — one name to a line.

While it is nice to have mixed case it really doesn't matter.  The computer ignores case.  "MacDonald", "Macdonald", "MACDONALD", "macDonald" are all the same name.  Your work, however is most useful if you use the same case as is used on the petition.

The order of each individual's names and the commas between names are important when working through the following eight steps:

1. Enter the last name first.  Please don't make a wild guess if you simply can't decipher the last name.  Type nothing and go on to the next step and enter the comma.  As you'll see you have plenty more chances to locate this person.
2. Enter a comma {",").   This comma is important because it tells the computer where the last name ends (or that it was illegible).  Any blank spaces after the comma will be ignored.
3. Transcribe the first name.  If it's not clear, use your best guess.   If it's illegible simply go on to the next step.  Ignore prefixes like "Dr.", "Rev", "Ms." or "Hon.".
4. Enter a comma {",").  Again, this comma is important because it tells the computer where the first name ends — even if it had to be left blank.  It doesn't matter if you have spaces after the comma.
5. Transcribe the middle initial.  If it's not clear, use your best guess.   If it's illegible simply go on to the next step.  Any trailing period will be cheerfully ignored by the computer.
6. [Optional] In some cases there will be a suffix like "Sr.", "Jr", or a Roman numeral for the generation ("II" or "III" for example).  Please enter a comma (",") followed by this suffix if there is one — again, case doesn't matter and trailing periods or spaces after the comma will be cheerfully ignored by the computer. IMPORTANT do not transcribe academic, certification, or honorific titles like "Rev.", "OBE" or "PhD".
7. [Optional] Following a comma enter the house number.  In many cases just the first or last name and the house number will identify the individual.
8. Start a new line
9. Repeat these last eight steps as necessary to transcribe all the names on your petition page

Just so you have a few examples, here are a few legitimate entries for a fictitious Harry W. Johnson Sr. living at 123 Maple Road (comments are in italics):

Johnson, Harry, w     last name, first name, middle initial

Johnson,,W     last name, no first name, middle initial

Johnson,123     last name, and nothing but the house number.

Johnson,,Sr     last name, no first name, no middle initial, suffix (Sr.)

,Harry,123     no last name, first name, and nothing but the house number.

You need the commas so the computer can count them to figure out if this is the first name (1 comma), middle initial or suffix (2 commas because we assume no one has a middle initial like "Sr." or "II;").  The one exception is the house number.  Once it finds a comma followed by two or more digits the computer assumes the numbers are a house number and doesn't go past the number's end.

Special Symbols

?  At the start of the line says I can't read this and VettVoter will ignore anything else in the line.

* or !  An asterisk or exclamation point at the start of the line says This petition entry is blank or crossed out VettVoter will count the line and ignore anything else on the line.

#  A pound symbol (hashtag) at the start of a line tells VettVoter to not count this line and ignore everything else in the line.  This is useful for comments.

Pencil the name of the transcript document at the bottom of the Petition page.  By now you know how important it is to write clearly!

A good system is to name the transcript document with your name and the Julian date.  ["Julian date" what the heck is that?  By putting the Year first computers will search dates in correct order.  The Month-Day-Year date format will sort by months which isn't all that useful.]

For example PatJones17-07-14 for a transcript made by Pat Jones on July 14, 2017.

It's also a real good idea to save your progress on the transcript document as a plain text document at this point.

Most word processors have a "Save As" option that offers a variety of standard document formats.  Choose .TXT, .DOS or .ASC formats that use a carriage return & line feed (CR/LF) at the end of a line.

The best bet is to make a test document.  The petition page number and names in a test document can all be made up.  The server will simply reject the document or make a gibberish Batch Validation Report if the document format is unsuitable.

Go back to the first step .

The computer will keep the names in the order you transcribed them.  The most the most recent petition page number will be assigned to to each name.  A separate part of the Batch Validation Report will be generated for each petition page.

Together with the petition page, the Batch Validation Report makes it easy to identify petition entries that weren't clear.  Things like first names you couldn't decipher or if this is the Lakisha Thompson in Ward 8 or the one in Ward 2.

Don't forget to save your word processor document and return the petition pages transcribed!  It would be a shame to lose all that work.

Technically a batch of petition pages can be any size.  Smaller batches like five or ten petition pages are easiest to manage when coordinating the petition pages and the appropriate Batch Validation Report.

Larger batches encourage transcribers to "get into the zone" when transcribing and it's easier to keep track of fewer transcription documents.  Note:  It is possible that larger batches will not process in the three minutes allotted by the server.  If that happens simply divide the transcript document into two smaller documents.  Make sure you divide just before a petition page number entry, however.

Email completed transcript document(s) to your team captain as attachments to an email identifying the Word Processor you used.

And most important of all:

Thanks for Your Help!