Cloudflare on Michigan Voter Information Center blocks API

[jacebrowning]

Shortly after the 2024 General Election on 12/5, Cloudflare protection was added to https://mvic.sos.state.mi.us, blocking all web scraping functionality that powers this API. Unless a workaround is found, this API and projects built using it will no longer function.

[jacebrowning]

One option may be to find an IT contact for the State of Michigan and kindly reach out to them for options.

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To Whom It May Concern,

Citizen Labs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing civic engagement and government transparency through open source technology. As part of our mission, we have maintained and provided public access to a reliable, community-driven API that builds upon the capabilities of the Michigan Voter Information Center (MVIC). This API enables developers, advocacy groups, and civic tech initiatives to create tools that help Michigan residents better understand and participate in the democratic process.

Over the years, our efforts have been rooted in responsible data access and compliance with both legal and technical standards. Our scraper operates with strict rate limits and is configured to avoid unnecessary load on your infrastructure. However, we are aware that Cloudflare and other security layers currently in place may interpret our automated requests as potentially abusive, despite their civic and public interest intent.

To ensure our work continues in a manner that is fully aligned with your policies and technical constraints, we are formally requesting the following:
• A bypass exception or approved access method (e.g., IP allowlisting, access tokens, or a dedicated API endpoint) that permits our system to interact with the MVIC without being flagged or blocked by Cloudflare protections;
• Technical guidance on best practices for interacting with the site’s infrastructure, including appropriate request rates, HTTP headers, browser or user-agent requirements, and any other behavioral expectations to avoid detection or throttling;
• Documentation of any legal, policy, or operational obligations that Citizen Labs must meet in order to secure and maintain access in a compliant and respectful manner.

We believe this collaboration can enhance the accessibility of official election information while protecting the integrity and performance of your systems. We are open to signing a memorandum of understanding or data access agreement, if required, and are happy to adapt our tools to meet your specifications.

Please let us know the appropriate point of contact or process for moving forward with this request. We would greatly appreciate the opportunity to work with your office in support of Michigan’s voters.

Sincerely,
Jace Browning
Board Member, Citizen Labs