DDx Basics

What is the Democratic Data Exchange?

The Democratic Data Exchange (DDx) was founded in April 2019 with a mission to revolutionize the use of data within the Democratic and progressive space. We radically expand access to actionable information that increases the efficiency and effectiveness of campaigns and organizing work, builds long-term power in communities, and wins elections.

Our mission is to expand the possibilities of what data can accomplish by ensuring the accessibility and availability of high-quality, trusted data across the ecosystem.

What is the Exchange?

The Exchange is the national Democratic data-sharing hub. It creates a real-time, blind exchange of program data across the Democratic and progressive ecosystem, including campaigns and independent-side organizations.

The Exchange holds the largest pool of voter contact data in the Democratic ecosystem, with data points including doors, calls, texts, mail, voter registration, demographics, engagement, issues, language preference, polling, and Support IDs, contributed by 700+ organizations.

What is the DDx API?

The DDx API is DDx's data-movement infrastructure. It provides modern, secure data movement between the Exchange and the many tools and platforms used across the ecosystem. Members use the DDx API to send data to, and receive data from, the Exchange.

How does the Exchange work?

Exchange members license their data to be available to all other members at fair market value. Members earn credits based on the type, age, and amount of normalized, shareable data they contribute, and can spend those credits to license data from the Exchange.

What membership options are available?

The Exchange offers several membership packages designed to fit an organization's needs, which determine data access, delivery options, and the number of user accounts available. The package model is being updated for 2026. For the current options and the package that best fits your program, contact your DDx contact or [e-mail].

Exchange Credits and Data Valuation

What are credits?

Credits are how the Exchange values data so that all transactions are of equal value. By licensing data to the Exchange, an organization receives credits based on our assessment of the fair market value of that data, and can use those credits to acquire data we have assessed to be of equivalent value. The credit system is based on interviews with market vendors and is designed to comply with the Federal Election Commission's rules on data swaps.

Can I buy credits?

No. Exchange credits have no monetary value and cannot be purchased. Credits are assigned to a member organization only in return for licensing data.

How many credits is my data worth?

Data entering the Exchange goes through a valuation process based on its type, age, and any restrictions the contributing organization places on it. The current valuation matrix has been shared with your organization and is updated from time to time as new data types become available. Copies are available under Resources in your account or by request to your DDx contact.

Members may also earn real-time bonus credits based on demand from other Exchange members.

Do credits expire?

Yes. Credits expire five years after they are issued. If you cease to be a member, any remaining credits expire when your subscription agreement ends. There is no cash payout for unused credits, during or after an agreement, and organizations choose how many credits to use and when.

Data Sources, Quality, and Usage

Can this data be used to support Republicans?

No. Our licensing agreement specifically prohibits using data licensed from the Exchange to support Republican electoral work.

Can this data be used in a Democratic primary?

No. The DDx licensing agreement forbids using Exchange data against Democrats. As a matter of policy, the Exchange does not normalize or make primary-related data available until after those elections are decided.

How do I know where the data comes from and who the other members are?

To keep data sources blinded, the Exchange does not provide an external list of member organizations. All members are known, respected, Democratic or progressively aligned organizations vetted by our team.

What is blinded data?

Blinded data means identifying information about a data point's origin is obscured through normalization, so the data cannot be linked back to a specific organization while its core characteristics are preserved. When you receive Exchange data, no data point includes its collection source. The canvassed timestamp reflects a two-month collection interval rather than the exact time of collection: a timestamp of 1/1 or 3/1, for example, means the data was collected any time between 1/1 and 2/28, or between 3/1 and 4/30, respectively.

Who can access data my organization submits?

Member organizations of the Exchange, other than view-only or otherwise restricted members, can license any data within the Exchange.

Can you advise on how to use data?

No. The Exchange does not produce, consult on, or engage in program or public communications decisions. We can tell you what data is available, but we do not advise members on which data best fits the program they want to run.

Can I submit data from a prior cycle?

Yes. The Exchange accepts historical data, which is valued based on its type, age, and any restrictions placed on it by the contributing organization.

What types of data can I exchange?

Members can exchange voter-contact data, including survey responses and contact attempts gathered through a variety of contact types: doors, calls, texts, mail, voter registration, demographics, engagement, issues, language preference, polling, vote plan, and Support IDs (candidate, issue, and ballot initiative). The Exchange may expand the range of data types it accepts over the course of a cycle.

Is the data secure?

Yes. The Exchange follows rigorous security best practices with guidance from cybersecurity experts. For specific questions, more information, or to have DDx complete a vendor security questionnaire, contact [e-mail].

Data Normalization Process

What cleaning does the Exchange perform on my data?

The Exchange performs only the transformations needed to keep data blinded. These include obscuring the collection time and normalizing survey questions and contact attempts to the Exchange's standardized structure, so that data from hundreds of different scripts can be compared and combined.

What is data mapping?

Data mapping is how the Exchange standardizes members' survey questions and responses. Each question is matched to a standardized Survey Question ID and each response to a Survey Response ID, so that like is compared with like before the data is ingested. Contact attempts are similarly assigned standardized values.

How are survey questions standardized?

To protect each organization's specific script while preserving a question's intent and informational value, the Exchange maps each survey question and its responses to standardized numerical identifiers: a Survey Question ID for the question and a Survey Response ID for each response. These shared IDs keep the meaning of a question consistent across the ecosystem without exposing the original wording.

Platform Features

What is a List?

A List is any list of voters you want to search against Exchange data. Lists can be used to set up subscriptions or to acquire data in Nexus, and can also be submitted as a Universe for others to use or for your own use. After uploading a List, you can:

• Submit your List as a Universe for credit, making it available for other Exchange members to subscribe to in return for credits.
• Add your List as a filter on the In-Cycle Snapshot, for more detailed visual insight that is available to your whole organization.

Where can I access data I subscribe to?

Depending on your organization's technical integration, subscribed data is delivered to the database you work in. Many organizations use the DDx API to send and receive data, which integrates with the Exchange on both ingress and egress.

What are Dashboards and Reports?

Dashboards and Reports display up-to-date visualizations of Exchange data, letting you view program work across multiple contact modes, both real-time in-cycle and historical. They can be customized with filters, including any Lists you have uploaded.

How do I search for Exchange data on an existing list?

Upload your List to the Exchange, then use it to search for additional data points that other organizations have on the people in your List.

What is Nexus?

Nexus is where you access Exchange data. It brings one-time exports and ongoing subscriptions into a single workflow. A one-time export delivers a single file of everyone matching your criteria at that moment, useful for building an outreach universe in a few clicks. A subscription delivers matching data on an ongoing basis as it enters the Exchange. Nexus replaces the legacy Universe Builder and Search and Subscribe tools.

We use AI tools to help us write and update these docs faster. Everything is reviewed by a real member of the DDx team before it goes live. See something off? Email [e-mail].