Introduction to OASIS EML (Election Markup Language)

1. February 8th, 2011 http://www.oasis-open.org Introduction toOASIS EML (Election Markup Language) Presenter: David RR Webber Oracle Corporation

2. Contents • Using OASIS EML • History, Overview, Processes, Transactions • Applying OASIS EML • Example process steps and actions • Supporting US-style elections • Summary

3. Quick Overview of EML • History • Work begun in May 2001 in the USA and UK • Charter: To develop a standard for the structured interchange of data among hardware, software, and service providers who engage in any aspect of providing election or voter services to public or private organizations • UK government has implementations: • UK Local Election pilots held in May 2003. • http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/election • Council of Europe Endorsement • Council of Europe Ministers have endorsed the e-voting recommendations and with that the use of EML http://europa.eu.int/ida/en/document/3294/358 • EML 6.0 is a approved committee specification • Considering ISO specification submission • Working with IEEE P1622 Committee on US localization

4. Category Overview of EML One or more XML schemas series are provided to support each general process area: • Pre election • Election (100) • Candidates (200) • Options (600) aka measures • Voters (300) • Election • Voting (400) • Post election • Results (500) • Audit • Analysis • Some functions belong to the whole process and not to a specific part: • Administration Interface • Help Desk

5. How OASIS EMLviews process steps andseparations • Election: • Candidates • Ballot / Referendum • Voters • Voting • Results • Audit

6. Selected EML Family of Transactions

7. OASIS EML voting transactions • Electoral Roll (EML 310, 330, 340) • managed by election officials and by voting staff • process designed to ensure anonymous vote • Votable Ballot (EML 410) • generated for voter using voting system • Electronic voting records (EML 440, 460, 480, 510) • generated by voter using voting system • digitally recorded and stored by voting system (EML 510) • Matching Paper voting records (EML 440, 480) • generated by voter using voting system • manually cast or mailed by voter • scanned electronically (EML 440, 480, 510)

8. OASIS EML 505 Web Reporting • New transaction (EML 505) • Designed for UOCAVA voting and ballot preparation • Combines experience with Google VIP XML and EML • Incorporates new OASIS CIQ v4 (draft) name and address • Can be automatically generated from Google VIP XML • Prototyped using Virginia election data from 2010 • Can be combined with EML transactions use (EML 110, 150, 230, 330, 410, 530) • EML 410 provides ballot layouts for ballot generation • EML 330 is eligible voters (poll book) • EML 230 is candidates and their election platform • EML 530 is results reporting • EML 150 is polling places and boundaries

9. OASIS EML 530 Reporting • Results Reporting (EML 530) • Designed originally for California – used since 2007 to report election results via live feed to media channels • Highly flexible and customizable • Designed to handle US district and precinct reporting • Also used successfully in Europe in Belgium • Planned use for auditing and tracking use cases • Code types can match categories of information required for auditing • Once codes are established and associated values and computations documented can be used to collect state wide information from polling equipment • Possible use for EAC reporting also

10. Summary – what EML supports • Allows implementation of UOCAVA ballot delivery system • Details of the core voting data elements and their associations and use in process • Mechanisms and separations to allow automated crosschecks of ballots, districts, precincts and voters • XML used to run all the process steps • Open international public specifications