Hart InterCivic Releases First Public XML Standard for Transfer of US Election Data; Proposed Standard Will Allow Seamless Exchange of Critical Election Data.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Hart InterCivic, a leader in providing electronic voting technology to meet the national priority on election reform, has released a new public XML standard for exchange of critical information required to effectively manage elections, including cast vote data, election management data, and ballot definition data.

Hart InterCivic has titled the new standard Election Data eXchange (EDX), and is making it publicly available on the Hart website at http://www.hartintercivic.com/edx.html. EDX is the first open published election data standard for United States elections.

The enactment of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) has focused the attention of state and local election officials on the significant task of modernizing the systems that support elections. While much of the attention has focused on the equipment used at the polling place, improvements in the management of election-related information systems are also a HAVA priority. Among the emerging requirements is the need for efficiently and reliably exchanging data between state and local election agencies, supporting improved election reporting, statewide voter registration and voter tracking, among other objectives.

This process is complicated, however, by the fact that many different systems are in use, often with proprietary and incompatible data formats. In order to address this problem, Hart InterCivic has developed EDX, based on the widely used XML (eXtensible Markup Language) standard. XML is an open standard for describing data in a manner that makes it easier to exchange between software applications. XML is increasingly used as a common "language" for defining data elements used in Web pages or business documents.

EDX provides an XML-based classification of standard election data elements in a form that can be used to provide an open, verifiable, medium of exchange between different election systems, and between county and state election systems. EDX can also be saved as part of the audit and election oversight process. Hart InterCivic will support the import and export of data with Hart's election products in EDX format.

As part of the implementation of Hart InterCivic's eRegistry(TM) Voter Registration and Election Management System, the EDX standard is gaining field experience, an important aspect in the development of an interchange format.

The Office of the Texas Secretary of State is developing and implementing a statewide, Web-based solution to make voter registration management efficient, easier and more accurate. Hart's eRegistry software will serve a significant role in the overall solution, providing features and modules to support the Texas Secretary of State and local election offices as they integrate with HAVA-compliant initiatives.

"Elections are a data-intensive process and similar to other critical government and commercial activities that need the ability to seamlessly exchange data," said Texas Secretary of State, Roger Williams. "With the advent of required statewide voter registration lists and increased accountability requirements at all levels of government, systems that support efficient data interchange will be increasingly important."

"Many States are requiring an XML data interchange format as part of their HAVA implementations and with the support of other entities in the election community, the EDX format will have the opportunity to be field tested with feedback being used to drive improvement as these systems are rolled out" said Neil McClure, Strategic Technology Officer for Hart InterCivic's Election Solutions Group. McClure added, "This is a rare opportunity to bring some uniformity to the nation's election data format which has historically been very fragmented."

Hart InterCivic has submitted the EDX standard to the IEEE Standard for Voting Equipment Electronic Data Interchange, Project 1622, as part of the Standards Coordinating Committee 38 (SCC 38) for consideration by its members for adoption. Pending adoption by the IEEE standards committee, Hart InterCivic will drop its copyright title and donate the standard to the public domain.

"We are proud to offer freely to the public this result of our expertise on elections," said Britt Kauffman, President and CEO of Hart InterCivic. "It is our hope that the release of EDX to the election market will serve as an example of how competing companies can work together to help jurisdictions provide accurate, fair and open elections."

About Hart InterCivic and the eSlate System

Hart InterCivic's eSlate(TM) Electronic Voting System is one of the most widely used electronic voting systems in the nation. Since introducing the System in 2000, Hart InterCivic has sold over 25,000 eSlate units to jurisdictions representing over five million registered voters, with millions of votes cast securely and privately in hundreds of elections.

The eSlate System was used successfully by the company's customers throughout nine states during the November 2, 2004 General Election. The eSlate System was used in jurisdictions in the states of Texas, Colorado, California, North Carolina, Washington, Hawaii, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky -- including the two largest counties to have adopted electronic voting -- Harris County, Texas, the nation's third largest county with 1.9 million registered voters and Orange County, California, the nation's fifth largest county with 1.5 million registered voters.

From electronic voting to the most effective technologies for automating local government processes, Hart InterCivic's name stands for exceptional expertise, absolute accessibility, and trusted transactions. Hart InterCivic is a leader in providing products and services that help redefine the relationship between state and local governments and the citizens they serve. Based in Austin, Texas, Hart InterCivic has offices throughout the U.S. and is working nationwide to bring governments closer to citizens through complete electronic government (eGovernment) solutions and election management solutions. More information about Hart InterCivic is available from the company's Website at www.hartintercivic.com.

eRegistry and eSlate are trademarks of Hart InterCivic, Inc.