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      VAN Integration

      BallotReady Civic Center user data is available as a direct sync into your VAN Instance through our partner, Community Tech Alliance.

      Setting up your VAN integration

      1. Request a VAN API key

      The following is a summary of the instructions provided on the official NGP VAN documentation on key generation, see here. 

      Using the VAN API Key Integrations Menu

      1. With an admin-level account, sign into VAN. 
      2. Under the Administrative Menu section of the portal, click on API Integrations.
      3. Click on the Request an API key button.
      4. On the Request an API Key pop-up, select ‘Community Tech Alliance’ for the Integration option. Select yourself for ‘Request will be sent to’.

       

      IMPORTANT: If you do not see CTA’s API key within the API Integrations menu, you’ll need to contact VAN support. Instructions on how to do so can be found in the section below.

      Contacting VAN Support to Issue a Key

      You can also contact VAN support to issue a key. This is typically used for first-time integrations or if you’re having trouble finding the key within the API Integrations menu. To contact VAN support, follow the steps below:

      1. Navigate to VAN UI’s ticketing system by clicking on Submit a Support Request to contact VAN support. The following is an example message that can be sent to their team to generate an API key:

      Hi VAN support team,


      I’m requesting an API key for integration with Community Tech Alliance. They have a custom API integration called “CTA - Production Key”. Can you please issue this key?


      Thank you,

      [Your Name]

       

      2. Once submitted, you’ll be notified via email when VAN approves your API key request.


      Moving forward, you can generate a CTA API key directly with the API Admin menu without VAN support.

      2. Share your API key with BallotReady

       

      IMPORTANT: You can only view your VAN API key once after generating. Be sure to have your chosen method of sharing and storing the key ready before viewing it.  

      1. Once your request to generate a VAN API key is approved, click on the Generate API key in the API integration page or from the VAN email notification. Keep this page open; do not refresh or leave the page.
      2. Navigate to One Time Secret and add the following items:
        1. Copy-Paste the API key generated within your VAN account
        2. Copy-Paste the Application Name (this will contain a mix of letters and numbers similar to this format PRT.001.cta)
        3. In the Notes field, input the expiration date provided by VAN. This is important to know as your sync will start failing if your API key expires
      3. Once added, send the link to your One Time Secret back to your BallotReady Customer Success lead.

        What data is sent to your VAN instance?

        Your VAN integration will include the following fields: 

        BallotReady Field VAN Field Example
        street_number Address 715
        street Address  West Montrose Street
        city City Chicago
        state State IL
        zip Zip 60613
        first_name First Name Simon
        last_name Last Name Smith
        email Email smith@gmail.com
        phone Phone 2014477315

         

        If you do not have a VAN Instance, we also offer these fields in our Basic User Data .csv export. For more information about user data delivery, please reach out to your Customer Success Lead.