Before You Begin Using the API

The following articles will present the calls necessary for accomplishing common tasks via the VoterVoice API. They are organized by goal and each include the list of necessary calls, a step-by-step walk-through of the process of making those calls, troubleshooting tips, and a collection of sample calls for Postman.

Please note that the step-by-step walk-throughs are meant to provide a resource for checking over things like syntax and possible fields to include. They are not intended to replace the value of a background in software engineering or experience working with APIs. 

Access

The VoterVoice API is open for all clients to use at no extra cost, provided that you purchased an advanced-level package. Clients with standard-level packages to not have access to the API. 

Making Calls

All of our API documentation can be found on our Apiary site here: https://votervoice.docs.apiary.io/#

You will notice that every call requires your association's encrypted API key. Most calls also require your ID Name; that is the identifying abbreviation that appears in the URLs of all automatically generated votervoice.net URLs for your association. The Support Team ([e-mail]) can provide you with both of those if you need them. 

Work Assignment

While there is no additional cost associated with using the VoterVoice API, doing so does require developers on your end who are familiar with APIs. They will have to create the custom bridges on your end.

Planning

While the articles that follow will lay out the most common use cases for the VoterVoice API, we suggest scheduling a brief call to talk over your plans and ensure that we can point you in the right direction. You can schedule that call here: https://fiscalnote.chilipiper.com/personal-page/adam-campbell. Please make sure to include information about your goals so we can best assist you. 

Troubleshooting

If you experience problems that you are not able to troubleshoot on your own, please contact the VoterVoice Support Team at [e-mail]. Include the following elements in your email:

1. your goal
2. the call you are using
3. the cURL of your submission (this will include the URL of the specific call, the headers, and the body)
4. the response you receive

The Support Team will attempt to troubleshoot on their end and reply with advice on correcting the call. If they are not able to troubleshoot, they will pass the question along to the developers to get their input.

Master List of Standard Field Names for API

Please note that the field names below use camelcase. 

Contact ID = "contactId"

Prefix = "honorific"

First Name = "givenNames"

Last Name = "surname"

Suffix = “suffix”

Email Address = "emailAddress"

Phone Number = "phoneNumber"

Fax Number = "faxNumber"

Home Address = these require address validation and are submitted as a "homeAddress" set with the following fields:  "checksum" "city" "coordinates" "latitude" "longitude" "country" "county" "state" "streetAddress" "zipCode" "zipCodeExtension"

Company = “businessCompanyName"

Title = "businessPositionName"

Business Address = these require address validation and are submitted as a "businessAddress" set with the following fields:  "checksum" "city" "coordinates" "latitude" "longitude" "country" "county" "state" "streetAddress" "zipCode" "zipCodeExtension"

Any Custom Field = ID found in URL of admin site when viewing that custom field in People > Manage Custom Fields

Headers

Every API call requires the same two headers:

• your encrypted API key as the authorization
• application/json as the content type

If you have questions concerning the API calls, please email your specific questions, including the curl and any errors to [e-mail] for a Support agent to review.