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API Enhancement: Return Unique VIP ID in Results #42

Closed GoogleCodeExporter closed 9 years ago

GoogleCodeExporter commented 9 years ago 
Return VIP ID so that folks can integrate API results into programs utilizing 
voter files.

Original issue reported on code.google.com by anthea.w...@gmail.com on 23 Oct 2010 at 2:17

GoogleCodeExporter commented 9 years ago 
VIP ID's are not required to be consistent between two versions of the same 
feed, they are only required to be unique within a given file.
They have no semantic meaning, either, they are just unique integers. 

Thus, returning the VIP id would not help folks, as it could change at any 
point, and thus you can't make a reliable system that depends on them.

If and when the spec changes to enable a consistent id for things like 
precincts, i'll reevaluate the request

Original comment by dan...@google.com on 24 Oct 2010 at 7:05

GoogleCodeExporter commented 9 years ago 
Dan, that's right, so we want to change the "ask" a bit:

Big API users, e.g., DNC, need to have an ID to match to their current 
databases. For the reasons you've outlined, this won't work for feed 
states/counties. But, for non-feed counties, where you're using the NOI-matched 
data, can you carry that NOI id throughout the process and return it via the 
API (in the precinct object only)?  This would be a big help -- thanks.

Original comment by aaro...@gmail.com on 24 Oct 2010 at 7:44