TGDC Meeting Presentation July 26 th, 2011 Ian S. Piper Director, Certification Dominion Voting Systems, Inc. TGDC Meeting, July 2011

Next Steps on a Common Data Format A look at the Interoperability Use Case Draft from IEEE P1622 TGDC Meeting, July 2011

Interoperability Interoperability has different meanings for different stakeholders. It’s important to establish a comprehensive overview of interoperability that provides a framework for developing a common data format. From that framework, certain implementation levels can be defined into which the elements of interoperability can be grouped. TGDC Meeting, July

Actors TGDC Meeting, July

Levels of Interoperability 1.Registered voter data, geo-political data, election definition data, blank ballot images, and election results data. 2.Ballot cast records, audit event logs, and ballot definition data (contests/candidates, but without specific ballot layout information). 3.Machine ballot definition data (with specific ballot layout information). 4.Machine configuration data. TGDC Meeting, July

Level 1 Interoperability Historically, data flows have been external to each system. EMS and VRS systems use import and export functions to transfer data between each other and to the State level systems (SES), VRS and EPB use similar functions between each other, and EMS exports blank ballot images for BBDS. However, each system has its own format that requires translation into each of the other systems’ formats. As these systems already have the capacity to interoperate through those import/export functions, it should be feasible for existing systems to be modified to transfer data in a format that complies with this level of interoperability. TGDC Meeting, July

SES State Election Systems VRS Voter Reg Systems BBDS Blank Ballot Dist Systems EMS Election Mgmt Systems Geo-political Election Definition Registered Voters Geo-political Election Definition Results Reporting Blank Ballot Images Geo-political Election Definition # Registered Voters Voter Turnout Level 1 Data TGDC Meeting, July 2011 EMS Election Mgmt Systems EPB Electronic Poll Books Geo-political Registered Voters Voters who voted Geo-political Election Definition 7

Level 2 Interoperability On a lower level, an EMS can provide data to other external systems, such as: – audit event logs, ballot cast records and election results to Audit Management Systems (AMS), and – ballot contest data to Blank Ballot Distribution Systems (BBDS). In addition to a common data format for audit logs, it would also be beneficial to have a common lexicon for audit log entries through which an analysis of an audit log can be done more efficiently and effectively. TGDC Meeting, July

BBDS Blank Ballot Dist Systems EMS Election Mgmt Systems Contests and Candidates per Ballot Style Level 2 Data AMS Audit Mgmt Systems Audit Event Logs Ballot Cast Records Results Reporting TGDC Meeting, July

Level 3 Interoperability On an underlying level within the EMS, the machine ballot definition data could be provided to BBDS systems. This information can be broken out into three segments that represent the type of ballot output from the BBDS. A.Non scan-able ballot. B.Scan-able ballot C.Scan-able ballot with required formatting. Note that the ability to generate a ballot that a VCD can scan depends on the BBDS printer being capable of producing a ballot that meets the VCD’s ballot specifications. TGDC Meeting, July

BBDS Blank Ballot Dist Systems EMS Election Mgmt Systems Segment A Ballot not scan-able by VCD, but with ordered contests, endorsements, rotations, straight party/recall contest associations, and ballot/precinct IDs. Level 3 Data Segment B Scan-able ballot with Segment A elements plus shape/size/color/position of voting targets, timing marks, control marks and special marks. Segment C Scan-able ballot with Segment B elements plus required font type/size/color, background color, watermark, color striping, and instructional text. TGDC Meeting, July

Level 4 Interoperability At the base level within the EMS, the machine configuration data that is downloaded to the VCDs could be provided to VCDs from other voting systems. This information would provide all the detail required for the machine’s operation. At this level of data interchange, one EMS could create memory devices for the VCDs of another EMS. Although the data on the downloaded memory devices would be interchangeable between VCDs, for election integrity, an EMS would only allow the upload of memory devices it has created. TGDC Meeting, July

EMS Election Mgmt Systems Level 4 Data VCD Vote Capture Devices VCD Vote Capture Devices EMS Election Mgmt Systems TGDC Meeting, July

Machine configuration data would include: Memory media ID Election header information Security and verification data Election data Rejection criteria Ballot sorting options Cast vote records Tally results counters Modem upload phone number Audit logs Level 4 Data For DRE interface devices, the data would also include: Header/footer sizes, number of columns, scaling factors Button type/size/position/justification Flags for voting, rendering, text wrapping Background colors for pages/labels/contests/candidates Instructional text, write-ins, audio, and default volumes TGDC Meeting, July

TGDC Meeting, July 2011