How to Use the BallotReady MCP in VS Code Copilot

Q: Can BallotReady fetch candidate platforms for local races?

It pulls the official data using the getcandidate tool. Ask your agent for a specific politician, and it will return their background info directly in the chat panel.

Q: How do I see what referendums are up for a vote in VS Code Copilot?

Provide an election ID to your agent and tell it to run getballotmeasures. The tool fetches the exact wording of local referendums so you can build accurate UI components.

Share live civic data across your engineering team with VS Code Copilot.

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Connect BallotReady MCP to VS Code Copilot

Create your Vinkius account to connect BallotReady to VS Code Copilot and route execution through our secure gateway. The platform manages server hosting, runtime updates, and security layers. Configuration requires no manual server provisioning.

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Setup BallotReady with VS Code Copilot

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Standardize Election Queries

BallotReady exposes upcoming voting events to your whole team using `list_elections` and `get_elections_by_address`. You commit the configuration to your repo, and suddenly every developer can query municipal dates right from their editor. Engineering teams usually struggle with out-of-sync API testing environments. Now your AI client pulls the exact same primary election schedules for the frontend guys as it does for the backend crew.

Build Officeholder Dashboards

BallotReady pulls current politicians using `list_positions` and `get_officeholders`. Copilot asks the server who holds a specific seat, gets the live record, and helps you write the rendering logic. Nobody wants to manually update a database of mayors and city council members. Your agent grabs the real-time facts so your application stays accurate without manual data entry.

VS Code Copilot MCP Server

This MCP Server handles the complex mapping of voter geography via `list_districts` and `get_districts_by_address`. Tell Copilot to find the jurisdictions for a test user, and it returns the exact federal and state boundaries. Dealing with overlapping local districts is a massive headache. You offload that math to the server, letting your editor focus on building the actual features.

Setup guide

Set up BallotReady MCP in VS Code Copilot

Prerequisites

VS Code 1.99 or later with GitHub Copilot extension
Active Vinkius subscription with a valid endpoint token

1

Open MCP configuration

Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P) and run "MCP: Add Server". Select HTTP (Streamable) as the server type. VS Code will create .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace.
2

Add the BallotReady MCP

Paste the JSON snippet shown on the right into your .vscode/mcp.json. Replace [YOUR_TOKEN_HERE] with your endpoint token from cloud.vinkius.com.
3

Switch to Agent mode

Open Copilot Chat (Cmd+Shift+I / Ctrl+Shift+I) and switch to Agent mode using the dropdown. MCP tools are only available in Agent mode — they do not appear in Edit or Ask modes.
4

Verify the connection

In the Copilot Chat input, type # to list available tools. You should see the BallotReady tools listed. Try asking: "List my recent BallotReady transactions" and Copilot will invoke them automatically.

.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ballotready-mcp": {
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Get your connection token →

Independent Platform Disclaimer: Vinkius is an independent platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, verified by, or otherwise authorized by BallotReady. All third-party trademarks, logos, and brand names are the property of their respective owners. Their use on this website is strictly for informational purposes to identify service compatibility and interoperability.

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Common questions about BallotReady MCP in VS Code Copilot

Add the server configuration to a .vscode/mcp.json file and commit it to your Git repository. Anyone who pulls the latest branch will automatically inherit the tools.

It pulls the official data using the `get_candidate` tool. Ask your agent for a specific politician, and it will return their background info directly in the chat panel.

Yes, the integration is fully compatible with organization-wide setups. IT manages the access tokens, while developers just call the tools they need.

Provide an election ID to your agent and tell it to run `get_ballot_measures`. The tool fetches the exact wording of local referendums so you can build accurate UI components.

Geographic coordinates and street names are processed strictly in an ephemeral environment. The Vinkius infrastructure guarantees that your civic data queries leave no footprint once the API responds.

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