1. Operator, scope, and agreement
CivicPolis is operated by CivicPolis LLC (“CivicPolis,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). These Terms of Use (“Terms”) describe the conditions for using our website, mobile application, and related features (the “service”).
These Terms form an agreement when you accept them through a clear agreement process or otherwise enter an enforceable agreement with us under applicable law. Simply displaying a link to these Terms does not, by itself, establish your agreement or waive your rights. If a feature requires acceptance and you do not agree, do not use that feature.
Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle information. It is a notice of our practices, not a request for blanket consent. We will obtain separate consent where applicable law requires it.
The service is intended for people age 13 and older. If you are below the age of legal majority where you live, use the service only with the permission and supervision of a parent or legal guardian. Nothing here limits protections the law gives to minors.
2. An independent information service
CivicPolis helps people explore officials, candidates, elections, legislation, news, and their own views. Coverage and features vary by location and release. Website previews demonstrate features and may include fictional examples; they are not a complete or official ballot.
References to public bodies, candidates, organizations, photographs, logos, or source materials do not imply their sponsorship or endorsement of CivicPolis. CivicPolis does not provide legal or other professional advice.
We may change features or availability, or impose reasonable limits for security, legal compliance, and service operation. Any changes remain subject to applicable law and any obligations we owe you.
3. Accuracy, summaries, and your decisions
Records, dates, district boundaries, candidate lists, and legislative status may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrect. A missing record does not establish that a person is not in office, a race is uncontested, or an event has not occurred. Read the source, date, coverage notes, and any sample-data labels provided with an item.
Summaries, explanations, and viewpoint comparisons are interpretations rather than official records. Some material may be generated or assisted by automated tools. Summaries can omit context or contain errors. Consult the full official text and current election sources before acting.
Quiz results reflect the questions, answers, weights, and comparison information used. They are an educational aid, not a definitive assessment of you or a candidate, an endorsement, or a recommendation about how you must vote. Your voting choices remain your own.
External websites and data providers have their own content and terms. We do not control their availability or practices. This statement does not exclude responsibility that applicable law places on CivicPolis.
4. Responsible use
Use the service lawfully and respect others’ rights. You may not:
- use it for unlawful voter intimidation, interference with elections, fraud, impersonation, harassment, or unlawful discrimination;
- gain unauthorized access, bypass access controls, introduce malware, or disrupt the service;
- use automated requests that unreasonably burden the service or evade reasonable access limits;
- infringe intellectual-property or privacy rights, or falsely imply an affiliation with CivicPolis or a source;
- use individual-contributor information from FEC records for solicitation or commercial purposes prohibited by applicable law; or
- use the service as a consumer-reporting, eligibility-screening, or official voter-registration system.
These restrictions do not prohibit lawful criticism, accessibility tools, permitted security research, uses authorized by an applicable license, or activities that applicable law protects.
5. Content rights and permitted use
CivicPolis and its licensors retain the rights they hold in the service’s original software, design, branding, and content. We permit you to access and use the service for lawful civic research and informational purposes, subject to these Terms where enforceable.
We do not claim ownership of public-domain information or someone else’s work. Government records, photographs, articles, open-source software, and other third-party materials may have separate licenses and attribution requirements. Those licenses and applicable statutory rights control their use. These Terms do not grant rights that CivicPolis does not possess or restrict rights that an applicable open license gives you.
Do not remove required credits or imply a source’s endorsement. A source link is not permission to reproduce everything on that source’s website. Where further permission is required, obtain it from the rights holder.
If you voluntarily send product suggestions, you allow us to use those suggestions to improve the service without compensation. This permission does not transfer ownership of your other work or authorize unrelated use of personal information in your message.
6. Corrections and rights concerns
Report an inaccurate record, misleading attribution, privacy concern, or suspected rights infringement to legal@civicpolis.org. Identify the page or record, explain the issue, include supporting sources if available, and provide a way to respond. Do not send unnecessary sensitive information.
If reporting a rights issue, identify the work or right involved, the material at issue, and your relationship to the rights holder. We will review the report and take appropriate action, which may include a correction, clarification, restriction, or removal. This contact process does not replace statutory notice procedures or limit access to courts, regulators, or other remedies.
7. Devices, app stores, and third parties
You are responsible for your device, connectivity, and any carrier charges. App stores, device platforms, and external providers may have additional terms governing their services. Applicable app-store license terms continue to apply where required; these Terms do not alter those providers’ obligations or their agreements with you.
8. Ending or restricting access
You may stop using CivicPolis at any time. We may restrict access when reasonably necessary to address unlawful activity, a material breach of applicable terms, security risks, or legal requirements. Where practicable and appropriate, we will explain a restriction and provide a way to contact us.
Stopping use does not automatically delete local data or provider records. See the Privacy Policy’s deletion information. Rights and obligations that are intended to continue, including content rights, accrued claims, and applicable liability provisions, survive only to the extent allowed by law.
9. Service limitations and warranties
To the extent applicable law permits, we disclaim implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. This section does not override an express commitment we make, excuse misleading statements, or exclude statutory guarantees and rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.
10. Limits on liability
Where an enforceable agreement and applicable law allow, CivicPolis will not be liable for indirect or consequential losses, or lost profits, arising from use of the service. Where you have entered an enforceable agreement containing this limitation, and applicable law permits it, CivicPolis’s total aggregate liability arising from the service will not exceed the greater of US $100 or the amount you paid CivicPolis for the service in the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim.
Exceptions take priority. These limits do not apply to fraud, intentional misconduct, gross negligence, or any liability, remedy, statutory duty, or consumer right that applicable law does not permit us to exclude or limit. Nothing here restricts a regulator’s powers, a lawful complaint to an authority, or rights held independently by someone who has not agreed to these Terms.
If a particular exclusion or limit is prohibited or unenforceable, it does not apply to that claim. These Terms do not shorten a statutory filing period or prevent a court from awarding relief required by law.
11. Responsibility for unlawful misuse
You remain responsible under applicable law for harm caused by your unlawful conduct or infringement of another person’s rights. These Terms do not impose a general obligation on a consumer to defend CivicPolis, pay its legal fees, or cover losses caused by CivicPolis’s own conduct.
12. Resolving concerns and disputes
You may contact legal@civicpolis.org to seek an informal resolution. Doing so is voluntary. It is not a prerequisite to making a claim, does not delay legal deadlines, and does not prevent urgent relief or a complaint to an authority.
Disputes may be brought before courts that have jurisdiction under applicable law. Governing law and venue are determined under applicable legal rules, including mandatory consumer protections. These Terms do not impose mandatory arbitration, an exclusive court location, or a class-action or jury-trial waiver.
13. Changes to these Terms
We may revise these Terms as the service or law changes. We will identify the revised version and its effective date. For material changes, we will provide appropriate notice before they apply and obtain renewed agreement where legally required.
Posting revised Terms does not itself prove that you accepted them. A revision will not retroactively change an existing dispute or authorize a new use of personal information without a lawful basis and any required notice or consent.
14. General provisions
Where accepted and enforceable, these Terms and any separately accepted feature-specific terms form the agreement for the service. The Privacy Policy remains a statement of information practices and does not reduce your statutory privacy rights.
If a provision is unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue only to the extent consistent with applicable law. Failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. A transfer of the service does not remove applicable obligations to users or the limits on information use described in our Privacy Policy.
15. Contact
Legal operator: CivicPolis LLC
Legal and privacy contact: legal@civicpolis.org
Include the relevant page or feature, a description of your concern, and a reliable way to respond. Statutory service-of-process and other legally required notice rules continue to apply.