2023-2024 VAN Pricing Memo
Updated: Mar 7, 2023
How are VAN prices calculated?
Example 3: Nonpartisan Offices, Districted
Example 4: Nonpartisan Office, At-Large
VAN is a product built and maintained by NGP VAN that the Texas Democratic Party licenses and distributes to committees around the state. VAN is the primary data tool utilized in progressive organizing, and no committee that does direct voter contact work should go without it.
How do I get VAN?
To request VAN, fill out the form here: txdem.co/van-request
This form is intentionally detailed. We need this information to correctly set up your account and to determine the cost of your license. Please note that the TDP Data Team will keep your request confidential by default.
How are VAN prices calculated?
When the TDP provides VAN to a committee, we determine the cost of the license based on three factors:
Committee type (partisan campaign, nonpartisan campaign, PAC, club, etc.)
Number of voter records in VAN
Gubernatorial/Presidential performance in your District/County
The committee type is an indicator of how much usage we think the campaign will get out of VAN. If the committee is a partisan campaign, we typically charge based on what office the candidate is seeking. All State House candidates are charged the same rate, for example.
Our team received feedback from the Finance Committee’s VAN Fees Subcommittee of the SDEC in 2021, which was formed to address concerns from campaigns and County Parties in more rural and Republican areas. The subcommittee re-emphasized that maximizing data accessibility should be a guiding principle of the TPD’s VAN policies, identifying historically Republican and rural districts as being of particular concern. Additionally, our team wanted to design prices that incentivized candidates to contest Republican seats and participate in the TDP’s data infrastructure.
For this reason, we are offering VAN discounts to campaigns running in districts/counties where the last statewide candidate (Gubernatorial/Presidential) obtained a vote share below a predefined threshold. Not all districts and committee types qualify for a discount. Statewide offices, for example, are not included.
While partisan races are broadly similar, the nature of nonpartisan campaigns and other types of committees vary broadly. For example, it would hardly be fair to charge City Council candidates in Austin and Odessa the same amount.
To account for this, we also consider the number of voter records in VAN. This is a very direct indicator of how much value the committee will get out of the product.
One less obvious consideration at this stage is the difference between at-large vs district races. When a candidate runs for an at-large seat, we divide the number of voter records by the number of at-large seats on the ballot for that election. This maintains cost parity between at-large and district races.
We’re going to list some example prices. Your committee’s price may differ from these; please contact us at txdem.co/van-request for an official quote. Payment plans are available.
VAN Payment Plans
We offer payment plans for some VAN accounts. The plan for which your committee is eligible is dependent on the cost of your committee based on the factors outlined above. For VAN fees equal to or exceeding $650.00, payment may be split into two monthly bills. Additionally, VAN fees totaling $4,000.00 or more are eligible to be split into four installments.
The first installment is always due at the time of request. Remaining installments will be billed monthly thereafter. If utilizing a payment plan option, VAN fees must be paid in full 30 days prior to your Primary Election date.
Example Prices
Note: all of these prices are one-time payments. Payment plans are available to break payments up into multiple payments.
Example 1: Partisan Office
For partisan elections, all candidates pay the same rate. All you have to do is fill out the form at txdem.co/van-request and we’ll get you a quote for your race. For example, we charge anyone running for the House of Representatives a one-time fee of $4,000 for access. The fee is the same for any candidate, and anyone running as a Democrat can get access. We charge the same fee regardless of when in the cycle the committee purchases VAN. This is meant to incentivize committees to purchase VAN early to get maximum value. Your VAN request is subject to a VAN fee discount depending on how the last statewide candidate (Gubernatorial/Presidential) performed in your District.
Example 2: Countywide Offices
For Countywide positions like County Treasurer or County Clerk, the price depends on the number of voters in your County. There’s a lot of variation in county size in Texas and prices vary proportionately. Additionally, your VAN request is subject to a fee discount depending on how the last statewide Democratic candidate (Gubernatorial/Presidential) performed in your County. Please submit a VAN request to obtain a quote for your specific race.
Example 3: Nonpartisan Offices, Districted
Our pricing for nonpartisan offices depends on the number of voters in the district. In order to calculate this, you will need to provide us with the list of precincts that your race covers. Unfortunately, there is no central repository for this information because the Secretary of State does not record this data.
We rely on nonpartisan campaigns to know the most up-to-date district boundaries for their own elections. By way of illustration, let’s say you get the precincts and we calculate that there are 50,000 voters in your area. For a race that size, we would charge a one-time fee of $650 for VAN.
Example 4: Nonpartisan Office, At-Large
Consider the case above, but you’re running for an at-large seat. We would then divide the number of voters by the number of at-large candidates competing for them. We do this so that candidates running for at-large and districted seats pay similar rates.
Thus, if you have 500,000 voters in your district at-large, you will not be charged the full $1,665 that population would usually incur. Assume, for example, that you are one of ten seats on the ballot for this election. We’ll only charge you as if you had 50,000 voters. For a race that size, we charge a one-time fee of $650 for VAN.
Nonpartisan offices are not currently eligible for partisanship discounts.