MANY ELECTIONS, ONE CLEAR INDEX
Elections Vote API
Organize election events without mixing their rules.
An elections index helps readers find the right event and jurisdiction before inspecting individual contests. Its central questions are coverage, calendar meaning, and source ownership. That differs from a feed reporting totals for one race. This page outlines a proposed multi-election catalog and explains how to keep event information connected to authoritative sources. VoteAPI.com does not provide a live election calendar or personalized voting deadlines.
Model the event separately from its contests
Give an election event its own identifier, jurisdiction, event type, named authority, and source reference. Link contest records to that event rather than copying its title into every row and hoping text matching will hold the catalog together. Explain whether a record describes a scheduled event, a completed event, or a source entry requiring review. A country, state, locality, and district are not interchangeable geographic levels. Preserve the hierarchy so search filters can narrow the collection without changing what a record means.
Label every calendar field by its purpose
A date attached to an event may not be a registration deadline, a ballot-return deadline, or the end of a reporting process. Use explicit field names and preserve the relevant time zone where time matters. Do not derive personal procedural guidance from one general calendar value. If a source changes a date, retain a revision record and review dependent pages. A proposed index should explain which fields are confirmed, which remain unavailable, and when the underlying source was most recently checked by its maintainer.
Expose coverage and route readers to the right detail
Publish a coverage statement naming the included jurisdictions and event types. An empty search result should distinguish no matching record from unsupported coverage. Keep the official source close to each event, then link to a single-contest view only when its scope is known. The EAC's results guidance provides U.S. context for distinguishing reporting from subsequent review stages; do not treat a completed calendar date as proof that all linked results are final. Test the catalog with overlapping event names and missing source updates.
COMMON QUESTIONS
A clearer
starting point.
Why maintain an election event record separately from results?
An event provides shared context for several contests, sources, and dates. A result describes a particular contest and reporting scope. Separating the two helps maintain consistent identifiers and prevents a calendar update from silently changing the interpretation of vote totals. It also makes coverage limits easier to explain.
Can a calendar entry tell someone their personal voting deadline?
Do not assume that. A general event record may lack the person's jurisdiction, participation method, or relevant procedural context. An actual deadline question should be checked with the responsible official source. This page explains catalog design and does not calculate personal eligibility, requirements, or voting deadlines.
CONTINUE EXPLORING
Connect the ideas.
All 18 topic guides02 / 18
Election Vote API
A single-contest election feed should make a precise promise: these records describe this office or question, in this jurisdiction, for this election.
EXPLORE THE GUIDE
04 / 18
Presidential Vote API
Presidential elections do not share one universal data model. A page must identify the country, election event, geographic scope, and process represented.
EXPLORE THE GUIDE
06 / 18
Mail In Ballot Vote API
A ballot-status message is only useful when its meaning and source are clear. “Received” may describe a specific step in one jurisdiction's.
EXPLORE THE GUIDE