FAQ — The Voting Information Project

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is VIP?

The VIP team consists of elections administration experts, engineers, and data professionals at Democracy Works. We can be reached via email at info@votinginfoproject.org.

Who pays for VIP?

As a project of Democracy Works, we're supported by the generosity of a network of funders. You can learn more here.

Where does VIP get its data?

VIP works with state and county election administrators to get official data that is never published without the explicit consent of the election administrators. States and counties send VIP data exports that conform to the VIP specification so that it can then be published through the Google Civic Information API.

Is any personal information shared through VIP?

No. VIP only incorporates public, non-personally identifiable information, and delivers voting information based solely on address and no other information.

How do I register to vote or request an absentee ballot?

For help registering to vote or requesting an absentee ballot, visit turbovote.org. TurboVote also sends election reminders so you will never miss another election.
If you have questions about voter registration in your state, please visit https://www.nass.org/can-I-vote

Where is the absentee ballot I requested or was my vote counted?

Please contact your local election administrator. You can find your local election administrator’s information at https://www.overseasvotefoundation.org/vote/election-official-directory.

What elections is VIP data available for now?

You can keep up to date on VIP data availability through the VIP Community Google Group.

What elections will VIP cover and when will it be available?

To see upcoming elections for which VIP will provide data, please see this list, which is updated frequently. We generally try to publish data about 21 days before an election.

I would like to enable others to find VIP election information through my site or app. How do I get started?

The best way to offer important voting information is to embed the Voting Information Tool on your website. It is open source and easy to drop in. If you want to develop your own tool, we encourage you to use the Google Civic Information API, powered by VIP data. You can learn about the VIP format by reviewing the XML specification and joining the VIP Community Google Group for developers and information distributors.

Who should I contact with questions about implementation?

How can I participate?

For more information about how to participate, contact us at info@votinginfoproject.org.

I already participate in VIP, how can I find more information?

Why should I trust VIP?

VIP is part of Democracy Works, a trusted, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing voters with tools to make voting fit the way we live. Our organization is a member of the Election Infrastructure Subsector Coordinating Council. As a part of this membership Democracy Works receives updates from DHS that allows us to ensure that we are playing an active role in maintaining election security. VIP itself has a decade-long history and has been supported by reputable institutions such as the Pew Charitable Trust and Google. We currently work with 41 states and the District of Columbia and we are honored to have the support of hundreds of election officials who work with us everyday to help make voting a simple, seamless process.

How can I use VIP?

VIP has multiple free tools states can use to provide information to their voters via text messages and through an embeddable lookup tool. For more information, go to https://www.votinginfoproject.org/projects/

What kind of impact does VIP have?

In 2016, VIP data served over 120 million impressions to help people find information about their local, state, and national elections. The data is used by Facebook, Snap, Instagram, Twitter, Google, the DNC, RNC, and several other partners to mobilize millions of voters to get to the polls.

How can I support VIP and who should I contact with questions?

To inquire about how best to support VIP or with any questions, please reach out to info@votinginfoproject.org.

How can I access historical polling location data?

VIP does not currently have the capability to provide historical polling location data, but we hope to be able to provide this in the future.

Who should I contact?