Elected Officials FAQs#
API Usage#
Are there any limitations when using the API?#
We ask that you limit API calls to 200 per minute. For more information about user obligations and rights, please see our Terms of Use.
What resources will I need to integrate the API?#
You will need a software developer, or someone who has experience working with a REST API. To see our documentation on how to implement please visit our documentation.
How do I get support for the Elected Officials API?#
You can contact us at 800-MELISSA ext. 4 (800-635-4772 ext. 4), or email us Tech@Melissa.com.
API Concepts#
What is a Credit?#
Credits are the currency of the Elected Officials API. Credits are purchased in incremental buckets, and then deducted as applicable API ‘calls’ are made.
What does the term ‘API Call’ refer to?#
A call is a line of communication used to ask an API to return a specific result. In the case of Cicero, you might make a call to the legislative_district resource, which will return a response of legislative districts to the location you specified.
Will I be charged a credit for every API call I make?#
We do not charge you for authentication calls or to retrieve election event data. For a full list of API resources and their cost, please visit our documentation.
Account Management#
Where can I access information about my Elected Officials account?#
After you’ve signed up for an account, you can visit Client Login. For the user login and password use the email and password you used when you signed up for your account.
What are my UserID and password?#
Your user ID and password are the email address and password you provided during the Elected Officials API account signup process. The same user ID and password are used as authentication for accessing the Elected Officials API.
What is the API Free Trial?#
We offer a Free Trial so users can experiment with integration prior to committing to a paid account. New users are automatically given a free trial when signing up for the API. The free trial provides 1000 credits and expires after 90 days. If, at the end of your 90-day trial period, you would like to continue using the Elected Officials API, you can simply purchase credits by visiting the Purchase page in your user account dashboard. We kindly ask that you only sign up for one free trial per organization.
Pricing#
How can I find out about customized pricing for high volume usage of over 1 million API calls per year?#
You can contact Melissa sales department at 800-MELISSA ext. 3 (800-635-4772 ext. 3) or email us at Sales@Melissa.com.