code: def get_balance(self, address, api_token):
          
          broadcast_url = self.base_url + '?module=account&action=balance'
          broadcast_url += '&address=%s' % address
          broadcast_url += '&tag=latest'
          if api_token:
              '&apikey=%s' % api_token
          response = requests.get(broadcast_url)
          if int(response.status_code) == 200:
              balance = int(response.json().get('result', None))
              logging.info('Balance check succeeded: %s', response.json())
              return balance
          raise BroadcastError(response.text)
docs: returns the balance in wei
          with some inspiration from PyWallet