Office

Office represents the office associated with a contest or district (e.g. Alderman, Mayor, School Board, et al).

Tag Data Type Required? Repeats? Description Error Handling
ContactInformation ContactInformation Optional Repeats Links to the ContactInformation element associated with the office. If the element is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
Description InternationalizedText Optional Single A brief description of the office and its purpose. If the element is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
ElectoralDistrictId xs:IDREF Required Single Links to the ElectoralDistrict element associated with the office. If the field is invalid or not present, the implementation is required to ignore the Office element containing it.
ExternalIdentifiers ExternalIdentifiers Optional Single Other identifiers that link this office to other related datasets (e.g. campaign finance systems, OCD IDs, et al.). If the element is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
FilingDeadline xs:date Optional Single Specifies the date and time when a candidate must have filed for the contest for the office. If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
IsPartisan xs:boolean Optional Single Indicates whether the office is partisan. If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
Name InternationalizedText Required Single The name of the office. If the field is invalid or not present, the implementation is required to ignore the Office element containing it.
OfficeHolderPersonIds xs:IDREFS Optional Single Links to the Person element(s) that hold additional information about the current office holder(s). If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
Term Term Optional Single Defines the term the office can be held. If the element is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.

Term

Tag Data Type Required? Repeats? Description Error Handling
Type OfficeTermType Optional Single Specifies the type of office term (see OfficeTermType for valid values). If the field is invalid or not present, the implementation is required to ignore the Office element containing it.
StartDate xs:date Optional Single Specifies the start date for the current term of the office. If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
EndDate xs:date Optional Single Specifies the end date for the current term of the office. If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
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<Office id="off0000">
  <ElectoralDistrictId>ed60129</ElectoralDistrictId>
  <FilingDeadline>2013-01-01</FilingDeadline>
  <IsPartisan>false</IsPartisan>
  <Name>
    <Text language="en">Governor</Text>
  </Name>
  <Term>
    <Type>full-term</Type>
  </Term>
</Office>

ContactInformation

For defining contact information about objects such as persons, boards of authorities, organizations, etc. ContactInformation is always a sub-element of another object (e.g. ElectionAdministration, Office, Person, Source). ContactInformation has an optional attribute label, which allows the feed to refer back to the original label for the information (e.g. if the contact information came from a CSV, label may refer to a row ID).

Tag Data Type Required? Repeats? Description Error Handling
AddressLine xs:string Optional Repeats The “location” portion of a mailing address. See usage note. If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
Directions InternationalizedText Optional Single Specifies further instructions for locating this entity. If the element is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
Email xs:string Optional Repeats An email address for the contact. If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
Fax xs:string Optional Repeats A fax line for the contact. If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
Hours [deprecated] InternationalizedText Optional Single Contains the hours (in local time) that the location is open (NB: this element is deprecated in favor of the more structured :ref:`multi-xml-hours-open` element. It is strongly encouraged that data providers move toward contributing hours in this format). If the element is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
HoursOpenId xs:IDREF Optional Single References an HoursOpen element, which lists the hours of operation for a location. If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
LatLng LatLng Optional Single Specifies the latitude and longitude of this entity. If the element is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
Name xs:string Optional Single The name of the location or contact. See usage note. If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
Phone xs:string Optional Repeats A phone number for the contact. If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.
Uri xs:anyURI Optional Repeats An informational URI for the contact or location. If the field is invalid or not present, then the implementation is required to ignore it.

Name and AddressLine Usage Note

The Name and AddressLine fields should be chosen so that a display or mailing address can be constructed programmatically by joining the Name and AddressLine fields together. For example, for the following address:

Department of Elections
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 48
San Francisco, CA 94102

The name could be “Department of Elections” and the first address line could be “1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 48.”

However, VIP does not yet support the representation of mailing addresses whose “name” portion spans more than one line, for example:

California Secretary of State
Elections Division
1500 11th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814

For addresses like the above, we recommend choosing a name like, “California Secretary of State, Elections Division” with “1500 11th Street” as the first address line. This would result in a programmatically constructed address like the following:

California Secretary of State, Elections Division
1500 11th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
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<ContactInformation label="ci10861a">
   <AddressLine>1600 Pennsylvania Ave</AddressLine>
   <AddressLine>Washington, DC 20006</AddressLine>
   <Email>president@whitehouse.gov</Email>
   <Phone>202-456-1111</Phone>
   <Phone annotation="TDD">202-456-6213</Phone>
   <Uri>http://www.whitehouse.gov</Uri>
</ContactInformation>