A published release is a scheduled, approved package of aggregate information, with its methods, denominator, consent basis, version, and corrections, made public at a fixed time to everyone at once. In the My Vote Forward framework, releases are the only way results leave the system: there is no live scoreboard and no query service into participant data. The idea is borrowed from how national statistical agencies publish official statistics.
Definition
The site glossary defines a published release as a scheduled, approved package of aggregate information, with its methods, denominator, consent basis, version, and corrections, made public at a fixed time (see the short entry in the glossary). Each element has a purpose:
- Scheduled: the time is set in advance, so no one can choose a convenient moment.
- Approved: a named role signs off, and the approval is logged.
- Aggregate: only summaries are released, never individual answers. See Aggregate.
- Methods and denominator: readers can tell who answered, how many, and how results were computed.
- Consent basis: each use of data must rest on a documented permission. See Consent.
- Version and corrections: a correction is a new version that says what changed, while the earlier version stays visible.
Origin and history
The model comes from official statistics. The United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics, adopted by the UN Statistical Commission in 1994 and endorsed by the General Assembly in 2014 through resolution 68/261, set the norms.1 Principle 1 holds that official statistics “are to be compiled and made available on an impartial basis.” Principle 3 asks agencies “to present information according to scientific standards on the sources, methods and procedures.” Principle 6 states that individual data collected for statistics “are to be strictly confidential and used exclusively for statistical purposes”.1 Equal, simultaneous access and published methods are how agencies show impartiality.
Disclosure research shaped the “aggregate only” rule but also showed its limits. NIST SP 800-226 warns that “even aggregate statistics can inadvertently leak information from individual data points,” and that “publishing enough statistics will always result in accurate reconstruction attacks”.2 A release process therefore needs a privacy review, not just aggregation.
How releases are produced and checked
The framework’s Published releases chapter sets out the pipeline: prepare from approved data only; validate schema and provenance; review privacy and consent; approve by a named role recorded in the audit log; hold until the scheduled time with no early exposure; publish the same immutable version to everyone; and correct by publishing a new version that names what changed and why. Each package carries a checksum so anyone can confirm they hold the published version.
The boundaries matter as much as the steps. There is no raw-data API, no arbitrary demographic query service, and no on-site scoreboard of opinion percentages or vote totals. Collective priorities are the stated exception, and only as released. Before any release of real respondent data, a documented privacy design must set statistical methods and minimum group sizes.
Common confusions and neighboring terms
- Published release vs. live dashboard. A dashboard updates continuously and invites people to watch and react; a release is fixed, reviewed, and versioned.
- Published release vs. aggregate. An aggregate is a summary statistic; a release is the reviewed package that delivers aggregates with their documentation.
- Published release vs. official election result. Official results belong to election authorities and their legal duties. Release rules in the framework cannot override election law.
- Published release vs. opinion publication. A person may publish their own opinion snapshot by specific choice; that is individual expression, not a release.
How My Vote Forward uses the term
My Vote Forward uses published releases as the single route for distributing results. In the current demo, release packages contain only clearly labeled synthetic data; no real-data program exists. See Synthetic data and Status.
What My Vote Forward can and cannot do here
My Vote Forward can specify a release process, label versions and corrections, and refuse to expose data through any other channel. It cannot make a release representative of the public when participants are self-selected; the denominator tells readers who answered. It cannot release real participant data today, because no approved program exists. The UN Principles are cited as the model; they are not an endorsement of this project.
Unresolved questions
- What minimum group size or noise method should apply to small districts, where expert institutions disagree?
- Who should hold the approval role, and how can that role be kept independent of anyone with an interest in the result?
- How often should releases occur so they are timely without becoming a running scoreboard?
Sources
- United Nations Statistics Division, “Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics.” unstats.un.org/fpos
- Joseph P. Near, David Darais, Naomi Lefkovitz, and Gary S. Howarth, NIST SP 800-226, Guidelines for Evaluating Differential Privacy Guarantees, March 2025. nvlpubs.nist.gov/…
