Information on Texas Voter Activation Network (VAN)

The Texas Voter Activation Network (VAN) is a database of all registered voters.  It contains information for the registered voter such as:

- Name

- Addresses: street and mailing

- Phone numbers: home, mobile, and work

- Email addresses

- Voter history: in what year they voted, both primary and general elections

- Activist codes

- Other demographic information, such as

    - age,
                -  gender,
        -  reported ethnicity

As a Democratic Party Precinct Chair, you are entitled to access VAN information in your precinct.  The VAN’s benefits go two ways.  You receive information about your voters, and in turn, you should update information that you find for your voters so others in the Democratic Party can benefit. Precinct Chairs should update voter information from the 2008 Precinct Convention sign-in sheets into the VAN.  PDF files of these sheets are available in the BCDP office, but the file of the precinct will be emailed to the Precinct Chairs who have email addresses.

Other users of the VAN include candidates and elected officials.  Your updates in addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses help candidates to spend their limited campaign funds wisely to reach potential supporters.

Register for an Account

Precinct Chairs may apply for a TDP Online Voter File account at http://www.texasvan.com/, click on “Request an Account” and fill out the form completely including all important information like county, precinct and election district.  You should receive a response within 72 hours, often sooner.


Important VAN Features

Individual voter look up:  use Quick Look Up on the Main Menu.  Use first and last name, or any of the provided items to find all registered voters with those criteria.

For reports and labels:  use Create a New List.

1)   First select Bexar as the County.  Then select your precinct in the Precinct drop-down list.

2)   Hit the Search button on the upper right corner of the page for a list of all the registered voters, or narrow your list by any of the demographic information on the page, including Voting History.

3)   On the My List page, select the Reports icon.  On the Print Report page, use the drop-down list to select items.  The “Voter History List” report format is the most compact, with one voter per line.  Source can be Calling or Walking list.  You can type a unique name for your list.

4)   Uncheck all of the page break options as well as the option to print page numbers to save space.  Select “Next” on the lower right corner of the page.

5)   The next page gives important instructions on setting up your page options to print properly.  Select “Finish” in the lower right corner of the page, and your report appears.

6)   You may print the report or paste it to a spreadsheet.

Using the List in a Spreadsheet

On the report page, hold the Ctrl button and hit the letter “A” to highlight the entire report.  Then hit Ctrl-C to copy the report.  Paste the report to your spreadsheet, such as Excel.

From the Texas Democratic Party

The Texas Democratic Party (TDP) is proud to provide a statewide online Voter File to candidates, county parties, precinct chairs, and others. The TDP Online Voter File includes current voting history and is updated several times a year to check addresses, telephone number, and to incorporate the most recent lists of registered voters. The TDP will continue to maintain this important resource after each election and we will notify users as changes occur.

Limitations

Data, lists, and any products derived from the data may be used only to help organize and elect Democratic candidates. Voter File data may not be used for personal, commercial or other non-electoral purposes.

 

Voter File data is also restricted to helping organize and recruit Democratic votes for partisan elections and may not be used to support Republican, or Independent candidates in partisan elections or any candidates in non-partisan elections.

Non-Candidate Users (i.e. SDEC members, county chairs, precinct chairs, state party Sustaining Members / contributors, and approved groups) are not permitted to print lists or labels or provide data to any candidate.

Training Available

Individual VAN training in your home, or at the BCDP office at 3010 N St Mary’s, is being offered by the Precinct Chair Recruitment Committee.  To schedule training, please contact the office at 210 785-0962.

BCDP Home                      Precinct Chair Recruitment Page