Tips for Using VAN Correctly and Staying Out of Trouble

Who gets access to VAN?

In our current LD/County system, the basic entry to VAN access is at the PC level. A PC can request VAN access for their Precinct with basic privileges. Any level of access above that comes at the discretion of the chair. The Chair can authorize an individual to receive access to additional territory up to the LD/County which the chair is elected to represent. The Chair can also authorize the person to receive heightened permissions as the user becomes more familiar with VAN. A non-PC Volunteer can receive access at the authorization of the Chair, provided they are a registered Democrat. Access for a PC or Volunteer can be rescinded at the Chair’s request, or if the individual has violated the terms of their VAN access.

Users can also gain access to VAN through a candidate’s campaign committee. Access in that case is determined by the Campaign Manager or Field Director. Campaign and LD/County Party interaction will be discussed further below.

Who SHOULD get access?

While everyone does want VAN access, the quality and usefulness of our data are dependent upon correct usage and maintenance. Therefore, the ADP recommends that County/LD Chairs and/or Campaign Managers grant VAN access only to those who actually need access and who have been trained to use it. That can be a large number of people depending upon your region. However, if a person is not doing data entry, cutting walk lists (for themselves or others), or organizing phone banks, they likely do not need access. In most cases, physical lists or MiniVAN can serve as an adequate if not superior replacement.

What will get you kicked off VAN?

Due to the highly sensitive information in VAN, there are a number of things you can do to lose your access. Avoiding the following will make sure that you keep your access! If you ever have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.

A.) Posting to Social Media

This is an easy one to avoid, but also one that happens more than you would expect. Do not, under any circumstances, screenshot something in VAN and post it to social media. For that matter, avoid screenshots in general unless it is for the purpose of completing campaign work. Too often, people have posted pictures to Facebook or send them in emails or text in an attempt to shame someone for their party registration, voter history, etc. If I see this, you will immediately lose access. No exceptions. If you are not the person who screenshotted it, do not share it further or you will essentially be doing the same thing. Additionally, if you are aware of such an event occurring, please bring it to my attention immediately. 

B.) Using VAN for a purpose other than what you gained access for

This is also a common occurrence, with potentially more severe consequences. If you were granted VAN access as a PC/County/LD officer, you are meant to use it to assist with the operations of your LD/County. Your access should not be used to assist a candidate, unless you have been given access to that candidate's VAN committee.

If you would like to assist that campaign, you can have them reach out to me to grant you access to their committee. If they do not have a VAN committee, do NOT use your access to assist them. That is a direct violation of the terms of your VAN contract and will result in loss of access for the cycle. The campaign will need to request their own committee to use VAN.

If you are a candidate running for office, you must request a committee. You cannot use your LD/County access. If you do so, it will result in loss of access for the cycle.

VAN access can also not be used for the purposes of selling goods, services, etc. 

C.) Intentionally Breaking the VAN Agreement

Using your VAN access to assist or campaign for candidates who are not registered with the Democratic party will also result in immediate removal. No exceptions.

If you take data from a committee and bring it to another without explicit authorization, that will result in removal. Falsification of data in anyway will be grounds for permanent removal from VAN.

VAN and Primaries

Certain types of VAN data can be shared back and forth between an LD or County Party, by having both committees contact me and request it. However, should a Primary arise, such things should not be permitted, at least without additional safeguards in place. If you have further questions, please reach out to me directly and I can go into greater detail.

If a PC/LD or County Officer wants to assist a certain campaign in the primary, they must do this by requesting access to the Candidate’s committee and working through there. If such an event takes place, it may be warranted to temporarily remove the individual’s access to the LD/County Party committee until the end of the primary, to avoid wrongdoing.

VAN use for internal party election is also explicitly prohibited. A PC list can be requested from the relevant party, but the voter file is not to be used for this purpose. Doing so could result in termination of access. 

What does Vote History Mean?

Vote History Coding means the following:

P= Voted at the Polls

E = Voted Early (PEVL/AEVL or In Person)

M = Mail (An older code for PEVL)

Q = Provisional

Y = Yes (We know they voted but method was not reported)

A Hyphen indicates the Ballot Party of a vote cast in a Primary. (D = Democrat, R = Republican, L = Libertarian)

Why is my VAN Inactive?

VAN Accounts may be deactivated for a number of reasons to protect the database. These include but are not limited to:

• Several Months without logging in

• Deactivation at the request of the campaign/chair of said committee

• Deactivation of the committee which the user has access to

• Deactivation of users en masse at the end of an election cycle (County/LD Chairs will be asked which users they would like to keep active)

• Misuse/Violation of Terms

With the exception of misuse or a terms violation, reactivation can be achieved easily via emailed approval from the relevant County/LD chair or Campaign Manager. 

Voter File Update Frequency 

We generally receive updates from the Secretary of State on a monthly basis, through processing this information with the DNC and NGPVAN through a redistricting cycle-- this may take slightly longer to update. We will post updates regarding voter file updates on the announcements page. 

Early Vote Return Frequency 

Every Weekday: Maricopa, Pima, Yavapai, and likely Coconino

Weekly: All others

Permissions that are internal only

• User Creation 

• Survey Question/Activist Code Creation 

• Export abilities 

• Suppressions or deleting addresses from VAN

• Minivan Campaigns 

• Early Vote Data