The OfficeIds for the Presidential race should include the VP office

[cwulfman]

No description provided.

[cwulfman]

Here is the definition as it currently appears in the August test file:

{
                    "@type": "ElectionResults.CandidateContest",
                    "@id": "recsoZy7vYhS3lbcK",
                    "Name": "President of the United States",
                    "ExternalIdentifier": [
                        {
                            "@type": "ElectionResults.ExternalIdentifier",
                            "Type": "other",
                            "OtherType": "https://viaf.org/viaf/",
                            "Value": "129529146"
                        }
                    ],
                    "OfficeIds": ["recFr8nr6uAZsD2r8"],
                    "VoteVariation": "plurality",
                    "VotesAllowed": 1,
                    "ElectionDistrictId": "recTXCMIfa5VQJju2",
                    "ContestSelection": [
                        {
                            "@type": "ElectionResults.CandidateSelection",
                            "@id": "recQK3J9IJq42hz2n",
                            "CandidateIds": [
                                "reczKIKk81RshXkd9",
                                "recLB4X1sLL2q1bSW"
                            ]
                        },
                        {
                            "@type": "ElectionResults.CandidateSelection",
                            "@id": "reccUkUdEznfODgeL",
                            "CandidateIds": [
                                "recopGzcpflkyhwdN",
                                "recBEqMDC9w5AnKxh"
                            ]
                        },
                        {
                            "@type": "ElectionResults.CandidateSelection",
                            "@id": "recPod2L8VhwagiDl",
                            "IsWriteIn": true
                        }
                    ]
                },

the OfficeIds property of a CandidateContest can have [0..*]values, so it seems perfectly reasonable to include the OfficeId for VPOTUS in the list. However, a case could be made that neither the POTUS nor the VPOTUS OfficeIds should be associated with this contest, because neither is being elected directly: the voter is voting for an unnamed elector (or slate of electors). See, for example, https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-local/2020/10/14/Election-ballots-mail-in-absentee-incorrect-allegheny-county-pittsburgh-voters/stories/202010140139

[stratofax]

@cwulfman can we either:

• Reopen this issue; or
• Open a discussion to identify the definitive way to count the number of candidates on the ticket

For example, if the OfficeIds property includes two (2) values, we know that the CandidateContest should list either two Candidates for each ticket and write in. Otherwise, how do we know that a sufficient number of candidates are listed for each ticket?

[cwulfman]

Open a discussion to identify the definitive way to count the number of candidates on the ticket
That's a different, albeit related issue to the task of adding the VPOTUS id to test cases. By all means let's open a discussion about that.

[stratofax]

OK, sounds good! Here? ElectOS-Dev · The TrustTheVote® Project Discussions

[stratofax]

In fact, I opened a discussion here: EDFs and Ballot Layout · Discussion #27 · ion-oset/DAVS

[cwulfman]

Re-opening for further documentation, from the Spec (section 5.8, Class CandidateContest):

... If the candidate contest is associated with a ticket (of candidates) and each candidate in the ticket is associated with a separate office, the association to Office can reference each of the separate offices. For example, if the contest is for the state governor ticket but Governor and Lieutenant (Lt.) Governor are both separate offices, the association references first to the Office instance defined for the Governor’s office and then to the Lt. Governor’s office. In this case, it is expected that the generating application will list the multiple references according to a jurisdiction-defined ordering scheme, e.g., Governor first and Lt. Governor second.

[stratofax]

@cwulfman I'm not clear what decision we reached on this issue, but I do think that whatever it is, you should record it in ballot_layout_considerations · TrustTheVote-Project/NIST-1500-100-103-examples Wiki.

In general, I think recording the decision to the Ballot Layout Considerations doc is the way to resolve and close these kind of issues in the future.

[cwulfman]

The short answer is yes; see #63 (comment), above:

If the candidate contest is associated with a ticket (of candidates) and each candidate in the ticket is associated with a separate office, the association to Office can reference each of the separate offices.