Privacy Policy
Voter’s Edge Privacy Policy
Last Updated October 22, 2020
- Overview
- Information We Collect
- How We Use the Information We Collect
- How We Share the Information We Collect
- Cookies
- Information for Subjects of the EU General Data Protection Regulation
- Children’s Privacy
- Security
- Third Party Websites
- Updates to this Privacy Policy
- Contact Information
- Other Documents
Overview
Voter’s Edge takes your privacy seriously. Voter’s Edge is a non-profit project that will never sell your information to third parties. We are committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations.
This Privacy Policy is a binding agreement between you and Voter’s Edge (a project of MapLight and in partnership with the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund for Voter’s Edge California) regarding the use of the Voter’s Edge website (located at votersedge.org) and associated services (“VE,” the “Platform” or the “Site”). Please read this Privacy Policy before using or submitting content in any form or medium on the Site.
The terms “we”, “us”, and “Voter’s Edge” refers to the partnership between MapLight, a California-based 501(c)(3) organization with its headquarters in Berkeley, California, and the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund, a California-based 501(c)(3) organization with its headquarters in Sacramento, California.
When you use Voter’s Edge, you consent to our collection, use, and disclosure of information about you as described in this Privacy Policy.
A link to a Portable Document Format (PDF) version of the policy can be found here.
Please review Voter’s Edge Terms of Use in conjunction with this Privacy Policy.
Information We Collect
Voter’s Edge collects personal information to facilitate your use of the Voter’s Edge website. “Personal information” means information that identifies or is reasonably capable of identifying an individual, directly or indirectly, and information that is being associated with an identified or reasonably identifiable individual.
Voter’s Edge collects the following categories of information when you visit the Voter’s Edge website:
- Browser and device information; and
- IP Address.
Personal Information That We Collect Directly From You
Voter’s Edge also collects the following categories of information directly from you in the provision of your voter information and based on optional actions you may take while using the Voter’s Edge website:
If you look up your ballot information on the Site:
- Your zip code; and
- Your physical address.
If you make voting selections on the Site:
- Your voting selections.
If you use the Facebook, Twitter, and the email sharing functions on the Site:
- Your social media account ID and information shared with us via your social media account.
If you fill out a site survey about user demographics on the Site:
- Your demographic information and other non-identifying information provided by you.
If you send Voter’s Edge a message on the “Contact Us” page:
- Your name;
- The County you live in;
- The Subject of your message;
- Your email address;
- Contents of the message that you type in and provide; and
- Information contained in any attachments that you upload with your message.
If you create an account on the Voter’s Edge Help Center:
- Your name;
- The Password you create;
Any information you provide in the Contact Us queue in the Help Center including:
- Your name;
- Your county;
- Subject of your message;
- Your email address;
- Contents of the message that you type in and provide; and
- Information contained in any attachments that you upload with your message.
This feature is powered by the Jira Service Desk. If you create an account, you are creating an account with Jira Service Desk, not with Voter’s Edge. Please make sure to understand what information you are providing.
If you sign up for the Voter’s Edge mailing list:
- Your email address;
- Your name;
- Your zip code;
- County in which you are registered to vote; and
- Your preferred email format, either HTML or Plain-Text.
This feature is powered by Mailchimp. Please make sure to understand what information you are providing, and please be sure to review the Mailchimp Privacy Policy.
If you make a donation to Voter’s Edge on the Site:
- Your name;
- Your mailing address;
- Your billing address;
- Your email address;
- Optional additional information, such as a name if you wish to be acknowledged on the Voter’s Edge website;
- Credit card type;
- Credit card number
- Credit card expiration date; and
- CVV code.
Donations are powered by the online donation provider Qgiv, located at qgiv.com. Please review their Acceptable Use Policy and Privacy Policy. If you create an account to make a donation, you are creating an account with Qgiv, not with Voter’s Edge. Please make sure to understand what information you are providing, whether it is from your own input of information to create an account with Qgiv or whether you use Google or Facebook to create an account.
You will have the option on Voter’s Edge to copy, print, or email your ballot choices.
Once you have reviewed these choices, you should clear your choices by selecting the “Clear Your Choices” option under “Get My Choices.”
If you email your choices, Voter’s Edge will interact with your web browser, such as Google Chrome, or your email provider, such as Outlook.
If you email your choices, there is an option to remove your address from the email. If you wish to do so, please uncheck the box next to “Include My Address.”
Accuracy and Retention of Personal Information
Voter’s Edge takes reasonable and practicable steps to ensure that your Personal Information held by us is accurate with regard to the purposes for which it is to be used, and is not kept longer than is necessary for the fulfillment of the purpose for which it is to be used.
How We Use the Information We Collect
The Personal Information we collect and the practices described above are done in an effort to provide you with the best experience possible, protect you from risks related to improper use and fraud, and help us maintain and improve Voter’s Edge’s offerings. We may use your Personal Information to:
Provide you with Voter’s Edge services. Voter’s Edge uses your Personal Information to provide you with our services pursuant to the terms of our Terms of Use. For example, when you visit the Voter’s Edge platform, you are asked to enter in your zip code and street address so that we can provide you with accurate information about the upcoming election and what candidates and initiatives will be on the ballot in your area. Voter’s Edge also uses this information to provide you with information regarding prior years’ elections.
Comply with legal and regulatory requirements.Voter’s Edge processes your Personal Information as required by applicable laws and regulations.
Protect the security and integrity of our services. Voter’s Edge uses your Personal Information to further our data security practices.
Provide you with customer support. Voter’s Edge processes your Personal Information anytime that you reach out to support with issues arising from your use of the Voter’s Edge website.
- Optimize and enhance our products and services. Voter’s Edge uses your Personal Information to understand how our services are being used to help us improve our services and develop new services.
- Market our products to you. Voter’s Edge may contact you with information about our services. We will only do so with your permission, which can be revoked at any time.
- Other business purposes. Voter’s Edge may use your information for additional purposes if that purpose is disclosed to you before we collect the information or if we obtain your consent.
- Third-Party Analytics Providers: Voter’s Edge uses Google Analytics to collect anonymized information on user demographics and interests to help measure our impact and effectiveness. Google Analytics uses cookies and anonymous identifiers to produce these anonymized reports. If you wish to opt-out and prevent your non-personally identifiable from being used by Google Analytics, you may do so here. The Voter’s Edge address look-up tool is powered by Google’s Open Civic API and is therefore subject to Google’s Privacy Policy.
- IP Address: Your “IP Address” is a designator that is automatically assigned to the computer that you are using by your Internet service provider (ISP). An IP Address may be identified and logged automatically in our server log files whenever you use our platform and services, along with the time of your visit and the specific page(s) that you visited.
How We Share the Information We Collect
Voter’s Edge will not share your Personal Information with third parties, except as described below.
- Third-Party Service Providers. Voter’s Edge may share your Personal Information with third-party service providers for business or commercial purposes. Your Personal Information may be shared so that they can provide us with services, including identity verification, fraud detection and prevention, security threat detection, payment processing, customer support, data analytics, Information Technology, advertising, marketing, data processing, network infrastructure, storage, transaction monitoring, and tax reporting. Voter’s Edge shares your Personal Information with these service providers only so that they can provide us with services, and we prohibit our service providers from using or disclosing your Personal Information for any other purpose. Our third-party service providers are subject to strict confidentiality obligations.
Research: Any research and analysis done or shared with the intent to better the platform offerings will only be used and shared in an anonymized format.
Law Enforcement. Voter’s Edge may be compelled to share your Personal Information with law enforcement, government officials, and regulators.
Professional Advisors. Voter’s Edge may share your Personal Information with our professional advisors, including legal, accounting, or other consulting services for purposes of audits or to comply with our legal obligations.
Consent. Voter’s Edge may share or disclose your information with your consent.
If Voter’s Edge decides to modify the purpose for which your Personal Information is collected and used, we will amend this Privacy Policy.
Cookies
Voter’s Edge and its service providers may use cookies, pixel tags (also known as web beacons and clear GIFs), and other similar technologies to measure and track general user activities on Voter’s Edge and on third party websites.
When you access Voter’s Edge’s services, we may make use of the standard practice of placing tiny data files called cookies, flash cookies, pixel tags, or other tracking tools (herein, “Cookies”) on your computer or other devices used to visit Voter’s Edge. We use Cookies to help us recognize you as a customer, collect information about your use of Voter’s Edge services to better customize our services and content for you, and collect information about your computer or other access point.
Information for Subjects of the EU General Data Protection Regulation
This website may be viewed by members of the European Union, but is not targeted for use by EU persons. If you are an EU person, you should not provide any personal information to us through this website. This website is intended primarily for U.S. Internet users who are interested in Voter’s Edge’s information and services.
Children’s Privacy
The Voter’s Edge website is intended for general audiences and is not directed to children under the age of 13. Voter’s Edge does not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. If you become aware that a child has provided us with personal information without parental consent, please contact us at privacy@maplight.org. If we become aware that a child under the age of 13 has provided us with personal information without parental consent, Voter’s Edge takes steps to remove such information.
Security
Voter’s Edge seeks to use reasonable organizational, technical, and administrative measures to protect your information within our organization from loss, misuse, unauthorized access or disclosure, alteration, and/or destruction. We take reasonable steps to ensure that all data we process is reliable for its intended use, accurate, complete and current to the extent necessary for the purposes for which we use it. Unfortunately, no data transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure, please immediately notify us of the problem.
Third Party Websites
Third party links on our website are provided for your convenience. Voter’s Edge does not accept liability for any content that is on these linked websites. Voter’s Edge does not imply that any third party links used on our website are endorsed by us, and we accept no responsibility for the content or the use of such sites. Voter’s Edge urges its visitors to take adequate steps to safeguard themselves when visiting any linked websites. When using third party links, please remember to review the privacy policies of those websites and their terms to get a better understanding of how they collect and use any personally identifiable information.
Updates to this Privacy Policy
Voter’s Edge may revise this Privacy Policy from time to time. The most current version of the Privacy Policy will govern our collection, use, and disclosure of information about you and will be located here.
If Voter’s Edge makes material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by email or by posting a notice on our website prior to or on the effective date of the changes. By continuing to access or use the services after those changes become effective, you acknowledge the revised Privacy Policy.
Contact Information
If you have questions or concerns regarding this policy or our processing of your Personal Information, please feel free to contact Voter’s Edge through the following:
Email: privacy@maplight.org
Address:
2223 Shattuck Avenue Berkeley, CA 94704
