Understanding Permission Roles in Vottiv

This guide explains the different permission roles available in Vottiv and what each role can and cannot access. Use this guide to determine which role to assign to team members based on their responsibilities.

Overview

Vottiv uses a role-based permission system to control what team members can access and do within your organization.
Each team member is assigned one permission role, which determines their level of access across the platform.

Organization Admin

Full access to your organization

Organization Admins have complete control over all features and resources.

What Organization Admins CAN do

All Features: Full access to every feature in the platform
Dashboard: View organization dashboard and analytics
Groups: Create, edit, view, and delete voter groups
Voter Lookup: Search for and view voter information
Data Management: Download voter data and export information

Canvassing

Create and manage canvasses
Assign routes to canvassers
View canvass results and analytics
Participate in canvassing activities

SMS / Text Messaging

Create and schedule text campaigns
Send text messages
View message history and analytics

Phone Calls

Create phone call campaigns
Place calls
View call history and analytics
Direct Mail: Create and send direct mail campaigns
Surveys: Create surveys and view results
Tags: Create and manage tags
Team Management: Invite and manage team members and permissions

What Organization Admins CANNOT do

Nothing — this role has full access to all features

Best for: Campaign managers, organization leaders, and users who need complete control.

Consultant

Full access to all organization resources

The Consultant role is functionally identical to Organization Admin.
This role is automatically assigned when an organization is added to a consultant’s Vottiv account.

What Consultants CAN do

All Organization Admin capabilities
Full access to all features and data
Create, edit, view, and manage all organization resources

What Consultants CANNOT do

Nothing — this role has full access

Best for: External consultants or advisors who need full campaign access.

Call, Text, Canvass (Full Participant)

Participate in outreach without managing campaigns

This role is designed for users who actively participate in outreach but do not manage setup or data.

What Full Participants CAN do

Dashboard: View organization dashboard
Canvassing: Participate using the canvassing app
Texting: Send messages from existing text campaigns
Phone Calls: Place calls from existing call campaigns

What Full Participants CANNOT do

Groups: Cannot create or manage voter groups
Voter Lookup: Cannot search individual voters
Data Downloads: Cannot export voter data
Campaign Creation: Cannot create canvasses, texts, calls, or mail
Surveys: Cannot create or view survey data
Tags: Cannot create or view tags
Team Management: Cannot invite or manage users

Best for: Volunteers, field staff, and phone bankers.

Canvasser Only

Canvassing access only

This role is restricted to door-to-door canvassing activities.

What Canvassers CAN do

Dashboard: View organization dashboard
Canvassing:
- View assigned routes
- Submit canvass responses

What Canvassers CANNOT do

Groups
Voter Lookup
Texting
Phone Calls
Direct Mail
Surveys
Tags
Campaign creation
Team management

Best for: Door-to-door canvassers who only need route access.

Groups and Lookup

Research and data tools only

This role allows access to voter research tools without outreach capabilities.

What Groups and Lookup users CAN do

Dashboard: View organization dashboard
Groups: Create, edit, and manage voter groups
Voter Lookup: Search and view individual voter records

What Groups and Lookup users CANNOT do

Canvassing
Texting
Phone Calls
Direct Mail
Data downloads
Campaign creation
Surveys
Team management

Best for: Data analysts, researchers, and strategists.

Voter Lookup Only

Voter search access only

This is the most restricted role.

What Voter Lookup Only users CAN do

Voter Lookup: Search for and view individual voter information

What Voter Lookup Only users CANNOT do

All other features, including canvassing

Best for: Staff who occasionally need to look up voter information.

Permission Hierarchy

From most access to least access:

Organization Admin / Consultant – Full access
Organization Viewer – Read-only access
Groups and Lookup – Research tools only
Call, Text, Canvass – Outreach participation
Canvasser Only – Canvassing only
Voter Lookup Only – Voter search only
Blocked – No access

Choosing the Right Role

Questions to Ask

1. Does this person need to create or manage campaigns?

Yes → Organization Admin or Consultant
No → Continue

2. Do they need read-only access to all data?

Yes → Organization Viewer
No → Continue

3. Will they participate in outreach?

Calling, texting, and canvassing → Call, Text, Canvass
Canvassing only → Canvasser Only
No → Continue

4. Do they need to build groups or research voters?

Yes → Groups and Lookup
No → Continue

5. Do they only need occasional voter lookup?

Yes → Voter Lookup Only
No → Consider removing access

Best Practices

Security Recommendations

Assign the minimum access required
Review permissions regularly
Remove access promptly when someone leaves
Limit Organization Admin access to trusted users

Common Role Assignments

Campaign Manager → Organization Admin
Campaign Consultant → Consultant
Data Analyst → Groups and Lookup
Volunteer Coordinator → Organization Admin or Call, Text, Canvass
Phone Bank Volunteer → Call, Text, Canvass
Door-to-Door Canvasser → Canvasser Only
Office Staff → Voter Lookup Only or Groups and Lookup
Former Staff → Removed

How to Change User Permissions

Organization Admins and Consultants can update roles at any time:

Go to Your Team from the sidebar
Find the team member
Click their current role
Select a new role
Confirm the change

Changes take effect immediately. Users may need to refresh their browser.

Adding someone who is already on your team. When you use Add New (Invite to this organization) and enter an email that already belongs to a team member, saving replaces that person’s current permissions with the ones you select. Before applying, Vottiv shows an “Overwrite existing permissions?” confirmation that lists the affected members, so you don’t accidentally change or downgrade someone who is already on the team. Only Organization Admins and Consultants can add members or change permissions. If the person was invited earlier but never accepted, saving also resends their invitation email.

Your Team Always Keeps One Organization Admin

Every organization must have at least one active Organization Admin at all times. Without one, nobody would be able to invite people, change roles, or manage the account.

Because of that, Vottiv will stop you from making the change if it would leave your team with no Organization Admin. This applies whether you are:

Changing a role — you cannot switch the last Organization Admin to a lower role
Removing a team member — you cannot remove the last Organization Admin from the team
Leaving the organization yourself — you cannot leave if you are the last Organization Admin

If you need to hand the account over to someone else, do it in this order:

Invite or promote the new person to Organization Admin
Wait until they have accepted their invitation — a pending invite does not count, because they cannot administer the account until they sign in
Then change or remove the outgoing admin

Management firms listed on your team page are shown for reference only. They are not team members, so they cannot be removed from the Your Team page — firm access is managed through the firm relationship instead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a user have multiple roles?
No. Each user can have only one role per organization.

Can users have different roles in different organizations?
Yes. Roles are assigned per organization.

What happens when a role is changed?
Access updates immediately. A browser refresh may be required.

Can users see their role?
Yes. Roles are visible in the account dashboard.

Are custom roles supported?
No. Choose the closest matching role or contact support for guidance.

Why can’t I remove this person from my team?
They are your organization’s only active Organization Admin. Promote someone else to Organization Admin and have them accept the invitation first, then remove the original admin.

Need Help?

If you have questions about assigning roles or managing team permissions, please submit a Support Ticket.

Vottiv Account Permission Levels