canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/phila.gov/phila # Phila Gov Polling Places API The Philadelphia Polling Places API provides access to the official list of polling locations in the City of Philadelphia. The dataset can be queried by ward and division number, accessibility rating, or building type. It is used by election administrators for poll worker assignments, machine distribution, and accessibility planning, and by civic applications to help voters find their assigned polling place. ## For AI agents Look up polling place locations in Philadelphia by ward/division, accessibility features, or building type. Returns addresses and facility details for voter assignment. ## Scope Does not handle voter registration, ballot information, election results, or polling places outside Philadelphia - use for Philadelphia polling location lookups only. ## Capabilities - Look up polling places by ward and division number for voter assignment - Filter polling locations by ADA accessibility rating - Retrieve building addresses and facility types for each polling place - Query the full list of active polling places in Philadelphia - Identify polling place building types for logistics and machine deployment ## Use cases ### Voter Polling Place Lookup Help Philadelphia voters find their assigned polling place based on ward and division numbers. The API returns the specific address and building name for each ward/division combination, enabling civic apps and chatbots to direct voters to the correct location on election day. The dataset is maintained by the City of Philadelphia and updated before each election cycle. Example prompt: Query the Polling Places API for ward 5, division 12 and return the polling place address and building name ### Accessibility Planning for Elections Identify polling places by their accessibility rating to ensure ADA compliance and plan accessibility accommodations. Election administrators use this data to prioritize upgrades, assign accessible machines, and route voters with mobility needs to appropriate locations. The accessibility field indicates the building's wheelchair accessibility status. Example prompt: Retrieve all polling places and filter for locations with full wheelchair accessibility ratings ### AI Agent Civic Data Integration via Jentic AI agents serving Philadelphia residents can look up polling locations through Jentic to answer voter questions during election season. The agent searches for polling place operations, loads the endpoint schema, and queries by ward/division to provide accurate location information without managing API credentials or endpoints directly. Example prompt: Search Jentic for 'find polling place in Philadelphia', load the Polling Places API schema, and query for the polling location assigned to ward 22 division 3 ## Key endpoints | Method | Path | Description | | --- | --- | --- | | GET | `/` | Query polling places with optional ward, division, accessibility, and building type filters | ## Key resources - **Polling Places** — Query and filter Philadelphia polling location records by ward, division, accessibility, and building type ## Why Jentic - **Setup:** Wiring the Polling Places API by hand means formatting requests against api.phila.gov/polling-places/v1 and parsing its lookup response yourself; the API needs no auth. Through Jentic you install once, import the Polling Places API from the API Directory, and your agent calls it. - **Permission scoping:** This API exposes a single read at GET /, so the honest control is operations-only: you limit the agent to the one lookup operation it needs, and nothing else is reachable because nothing else is exposed. - **Credential handling:** The Polling Places API needs no credential, so there is none for Jentic to store, and no key ever enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context. - **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'find a Philadelphia polling place', and Jentic returns the matching Polling Places operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs. ## Related APIs - **Data.gov API** — Federal open data catalog with election, census, and geographic datasets - **OpenAI API** — Language model API for building civic chatbots that answer voter questions - **Telnyx API** — Communications API for SMS notifications about polling place assignments ## FAQ ### What authentication does the Polling Places API use? The Philadelphia Polling Places API requires no authentication. It is a public open-data endpoint accessible without API keys or tokens. Through Jentic, the API is still discoverable via intent search so agents can find and call it without knowing the base URL. ### Can I look up a specific polling place by ward and division number? Yes. The GET / endpoint accepts ward and division as query parameters. Each ward/division combination maps to exactly one polling place, so you receive the specific address, building name, and accessibility rating for that location. ### How often is the polling places data updated? The City of Philadelphia updates the polling places dataset before each election cycle. Changes reflect new building assignments, accessibility upgrades, and ward redistricting. The data is considered authoritative for the current election period. ### Does the API include accessibility information for each polling place? Yes. Each polling place record includes an accessibility rating field that indicates the building's wheelchair accessibility status. You can also filter the query to return only locations that meet a specific accessibility threshold. ### How do I query Philadelphia polling places through Jentic? Search Jentic for 'find polling place in Philadelphia' to discover the Polling Places API. Load the operation schema to see available query parameters (ward, division, accessibility, building type), then execute the call. Since this API has no auth, Jentic handles only the discovery and schema aspects. ### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the Polling Places API? Yes. Because you run Jentic One yourself, your own rules decide which operations and credentials your agent may use. The Polling Places API exposes a single read at GET /, so you scope the agent to that one lookup operation and nothing else is reachable, since nothing else is exposed. This API needs no authentication, so there are no keys for the agent to hold or misuse.