How do I find my vote.direct API Key?

Log in to your [**vote.direct dashboard**](https://vote.direct/), register for an API Key, and you will find it in your account settings. Copy and paste it below.

Does it show the specific items on the ballot?

Yes. The `get_ballot_information` tool retrieves the specific measures and candidates that will appear on the ballot for a given address.

Can the agent check registration deadlines?

Yes. Use the `get_registration_details` tool providing the state code. Your agent will return the official deadlines and registration links instantly.

vote.direct MCP Server for Claude Desktop 5 tools — connect in under 2 minutes

Name: vote.direct
Availability: InStock
Author: Vinkius

modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/user

Built by Vinkius GDPR 5 Tools IDE

Claude Desktop is Anthropic's native application for interacting with Claude AI models on macOS and Windows. It was the first consumer application to ship with built-in MCP support, making it the reference implementation for the Model Context Protocol standard.

Get MCP Server for AI Agents

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Open in ChatGPT Open in Claude Open in Perplexity

Vinkius supports streamable HTTP and SSE.

RecommendedModern Approach — Zero Configuration

Vinkius Desktop App

The modern way to manage MCP Servers — no config files, no terminal commands. Install vote.direct and 2,500+ MCP Servers from a single visual interface.

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Classic Setup·json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "votedirect": {
      // Your Vinkius token — get it at cloud.vinkius.com
      "url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
    }
  }
}

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Ed25519Audit chain

<40msKill switch

Stream every event to Splunk, Datadog, or your own webhook in real-time

* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure

About vote.direct MCP Server

Empower your AI agent to orchestrate your entire civic participation and voter auditing workflow with vote.direct, the comprehensive source for localized election data. By connecting vote.direct to your agent, you transform complex voter searches into a natural conversation. Your agent can instantly search for polling locations, audit upcoming elections, and retrieve registration deadlines without you ever touching a government portal. Whether you are preparing for a local vote or conducting regional civic research, your agent acts as a real-time civic consultant, ensuring your data is always verified and localized.

Claude Desktop is the definitive way to connect vote.direct to your AI workflow. Add the Vinkius Edge URL to your config, restart the app, and Claude immediately exposes all 5 tools in the chat interface — ask a question, Claude calls the right tool, and you see the answer. Zero code, zero context switching.

What you can do

Polling Auditing — Search for polling locations near any street address and retrieve detailed metadata, including hours and names.
Election Oversight — Audit upcoming elections for specific ZIP codes to maintain a clear view of local civic timelines and scale.
Ballot Discovery — Retrieve detailed ballot information for specific elections to understand the legislative items and candidates instantly.
Registration Intelligence — Query voter registration deadlines and links for any state to assist in civic compliance and planning.
Civic Monitoring — Check API status to ensure your civic research workflow is always operational.

The vote.direct MCP Server exposes 5 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to Claude Desktop in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.

How to Connect vote.direct to Claude Desktop via MCP

Follow these steps to integrate the vote.direct MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

Open Claude Desktop Settings

Go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config to open claude_desktop_config.json

Add the MCP Server

Paste the configuration above into the mcpServers section

Restart Claude Desktop

Close and reopen Claude Desktop to load the new server

Start using vote.direct

Look for the 🔌 icon in the chat — your 5 tools are now available

Why Use Claude Desktop with the vote.direct MCP Server

Claude Desktop by Anthropic provides unique advantages when paired with vote.direct through the Model Context Protocol.

Claude Desktop is the reference MCP client — it was designed alongside the protocol itself, ensuring the most complete and stable MCP implementation available

Zero-code configuration: add a server URL to a JSON file and Claude instantly discovers and exposes all available tools in the chat interface

Claude's extended thinking capability lets it reason through multi-step tool usage, chaining multiple API calls to answer complex questions

Enterprise-grade security with local config storage — your tokens never leave your machine, and connections go directly to the Vinkius Edge network

vote.direct + Claude Desktop Use Cases

Practical scenarios where Claude Desktop combined with the vote.direct MCP Server delivers measurable value.

Interactive data exploration: ask Claude to query DNS records, look up WHOIS data, and cross-reference results in a single conversation

Ad-hoc security audits: type a domain name and let Claude enumerate subdomains, check DNS history, and flag configuration anomalies — all through natural language

Executive briefings: generate comprehensive domain intelligence reports by asking Claude to compile findings into a formatted summary

Learning and training: new team members can explore API capabilities conversationally without needing to read documentation

vote.direct MCP Tools for Claude Desktop (5)

These 5 tools become available when you connect vote.direct to Claude Desktop via MCP:

check_api_status

direct election data service. Check if the vote.direct service is operational

get_ballot_information

Get ballot information for a specific election and address

get_polling_locations

Find polling locations near a specific address

get_registration_details

Get voter registration deadlines and links for a specific state

get_upcoming_elections

Find upcoming elections for a specific ZIP code

Example Prompts for vote.direct in Claude Desktop

Ready-to-use prompts you can give your Claude Desktop agent to start working with vote.direct immediately.

"Find polling locations near '1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC' using vote.direct."

"What elections are upcoming for ZIP code '90210'?"

"Get registration deadline for 'New York'."

Troubleshooting vote.direct MCP Server with Claude Desktop

Common issues when connecting vote.direct to Claude Desktop through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.

Server not appearing after restart

Ensure the JSON is valid (no trailing commas). Check the file path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\\Claude\\ (Windows).

Authentication error

Verify your Vinkius token is correct. Go to cloud.vinkius.com to regenerate it if needed.

Tools not showing in chat

Click the 🔌 icon at the bottom of the chat input. If it shows 0 tools, the server may still be connecting — wait a few seconds.

vote.direct + Claude Desktop FAQ

Common questions about integrating vote.direct MCP Server with Claude Desktop.

How does Claude Desktop discover MCP tools?

When Claude Desktop starts, it reads the claude_desktop_config.json file and connects to each configured MCP server. It calls the tools/list endpoint to fetch the schema for every available tool, then surfaces them as clickable options in the chat interface via the 🔌 icon.

What happens if the MCP server is temporarily unavailable?

Claude Desktop handles disconnections gracefully — if the server is unreachable at startup, the tools simply won't appear. Once the server becomes available again, restarting Claude Desktop will re-establish the connection. There is no timeout penalty or error loop.

Can I connect multiple MCP servers simultaneously?

Yes. You can add as many servers as you need in the mcpServers section of the config file. Each server appears as a separate tool provider, and Claude can use tools from multiple servers in a single conversation turn.

Is there a limit on the number of tools per server?

Claude Desktop can handle hundreds of tools per server. However, for optimal LLM performance, Vinkius servers are designed to expose focused, well-documented tool sets rather than overwhelming the model with too many options.

Does Claude Desktop support Streamable HTTP transport?

Yes. Claude Desktop supports both SSE (Server-Sent Events) and the newer Streamable HTTP transport that Vinkius uses. Simply provide the server URL — Claude auto-negotiates the transport protocol.