The Voter Action Network is a set of tools for building campaigns and interacting with voters. VAN is the foundation for all Democratic field operations, from U.S. President to City Council and serves as our primary platform for knocking doors, calling phones, sending mail, and managing volunteers. It also integrates with services for auto dialers, texting, event signups, fundraising, robo calls, and many other services in the Democratic field ecosystem. 


The Database


VAN’s voter database is constructed from 3 layers of information that help build out our understanding of voters and how to contact them. 


  1. The Voter File

    1. We update VAN monthly from the Qualified Voter File, a database of every registered voter in the State of Michigan. 

    2. We get voter names, addresses, age, and previous elections they have voted in. 

  2. User Input

    1. You are benefiting from over a decade of local field work including past voter contact attempts (update phone numbers and addresses) and conversations (candidate/party support, top issues, willingness to volunteer). 

  3. Supplemental Analytics

    1. We load in supplemental data from public and consumer data sets, provision phone numbers, and provide modelling on party/candidate support, issues, and demographics.


The Services


VAN contains a number of tools for interacting with and contacting voters, volunteers, and interest groups in your area: 


  • Create lists of voters using voter, user, and analytics information.

  • Create and manage canvasses to talk to voters at their doors. 

  • Create virtual phone banks or paper call sheets to talk to voters on the phone. 

  • Generate mailing lists to contact voters through direct mail. 

  • Manage event signups and volunteers. 

  • Integrate with 3rd party services to text voters and volunteers. 

  • Run auto dialer or robo call campaigns to contact voters at high volume. 

  • Analyze field and voter data.