Privacy policy for users ages 18+
Effective date: September 8, 2025
This Privacy Policy explains how VoteAmerica collects, uses, and protects your information when you use our websites, tools, and services. This version applies to users 18 and older. If you are between 13 and 17 years of age, please view this privacy policy instead.
This Policy applies to:
any other websites, tools, or applications operated by VoteAmerica that link to this Privacy Policy
At a glance
We collect personal and non-personal data to help you register to vote and use our tools.
We do not sell your personal information.
We may share information with election officials, researchers, or partner voter organizations under strict conditions.
You can opt out of communications including text messages and emails at any time.
We take security seriously, but no system is perfect.
1. Eligibility
Our Services are not intended for children under 13.
Users ages 18 and older may use our full Services.
2. Information we collect
We may collect:
Name, address, phone number, and email address
Driver’s license or state ID number
Date of birth
Citizenship status (you have to be a citizen to vote!)
Device and browser information, IP address, and usage data
3. How we use information we collect
We use the information we collect, both personal and non-personal, to support our mission, operate our services, and comply with applicable laws. Below is a summary of how we use your information:
A. Service Operation and Improvement
We use your information to:
Operate, maintain, and improve our websites, voter tools, and other services;
Test, research, and analyze new features or functionality;
Provide user support and respond to inquiries;
Monitor usage trends and diagnose technical issues;
Ensure the functionality, security, and integrity of our technology systems.
B. Voter engagement and support
We use your information to:
Assist with voter registration, polling place lookup, and vote planning tools;
Verify eligibility to vote or to register to vote;
Contact you to provide election reminders, information, or voter support;
Help you complete or check your registration status;
Fulfill other services you request through our tools or features.
C. Academic research and analysis
We may use personal and non-personal information to:
Support academic studies and research about voter behavior;
Create aggregated, de-identified data sets to analyze civic engagement trends;
Share anonymized insights with researchers, partners, and other civic organizations.
D. Communication and messaging
We may use your contact information to:
Send you important updates or confirmations related to your use of the Service;
Communicate about voting deadlines, election alerts, or relevant research opportunities;
Allow you to opt in or out of reminders, outreach, or other voter engagement messages;
Personalize your experience based on your interaction with the Service.
You may opt out of voter registration or polling place reminders, research outreach, or marketing emails at any time by emailing privacy@voteamerica.org or replying STOP to any text messages.
E. Legal, security, and compliance
We may use your information to:
Investigate, prevent, or take action against suspected fraud, misuse, or other violations;
Protect the rights, property, or safety of our organization, users, or the public;
Comply with legal obligations, subpoenas, court orders, or law enforcement requests;
Enforce our Terms of Use or other policies.
F. With your consent
We may use your information for other purposes, but only with your explicit consent at the time it is collected.
4. Information sharing
We do not sell your personal information.
We do not share text messaging originator opt-in data and consent with any third parties.
Generally, we disclose your personal information only to our employees, contractors, agents, service providers, state and local election offices and voter registrars, university researchers, and third-party analytic services that: (i) need to know such information to process it on our behalf or to provide services available on the Service; and (ii) that have agreed not to disclose it to others. However, we may also disclose your information, including personal information and non-personal information, in certain other circumstances, as described below. We share certain personal information (name, address, phone number and email) with partner voter organizations to verify or update their voter registrations.
If we believe in good faith that disclosure of your personal information is legally required or reasonably needed to (i) verify your voter registration eligibility and information; (ii) respond to a subpoena, court order, or other governmental request, or (iii) protect our property or rights, or those of any third party or the public at large, we will disclose the information.
From time to time, we may provide anonymized user information (i.e., information with any personally identifiable information removed) or aggregated user information (i.e., data on groups of users not identifying any individual user) to third-party analytic services to operate, maintain, or improve the Service, our products, or our services. We may also share anonymized and/or aggregated user information with our contractors, service providers, analytics services, purchasers of aggregated customer data, and third parties to whom disclosure is required by law (e.g., to comply with a subpoena or court order).
If we go out of business or enter bankruptcy, user information may be one of the assets that is transferred or acquired by a third party. By using the Service, you acknowledge and agree that such transfers may occur, and that any acquirer of our Company may continue to use your personal information as set forth in this policy.
5. Text messaging (SMS) policy
If you opt in to receive text messages (SMS) from VoteAmerica, we will only use your phone number for nonpartisan civic engagement purposes—such as voter registration support, election reminders, and voting-related research opportunities.
By providing your mobile number and opting in, you consent to receive recurring messages from VoteAmerica. Message frequency may vary. Standard message and data rates may apply.
You can opt out of receiving text messages at any time by replying STOP. You may also contact us at privacy@voteamerica.org for help or to request removal from our SMS communications list.
We do not share SMS opt-in data or consent with any third parties.
6. Cookies and other technologies
We use Cookies on our Website and in our Service to personalize content, to provide social media features, and to analyze our traffic. We also share information about your use of our Website and our Service with our analytics partners. You can manage cookies via browser settings. This section explains what cookies are, how we use Cookies and similar technologies on our Website and our Service, and what you can do to manage how Cookies are used. As with the rest of this Privacy Policy, you consent to the practices described in this Section 6 by using the Website.
What Cookies are
A cookie is a small bit of text which is sent to your computer or mobile device (referred to in this policy as a “device”) by the web server so that a website can remember some information about your browsing activity on the Website and Service. The Cookie will collect information relating to your use of our Website, information about your device such as the device’s IP address and browser type, demographic data and, if you arrived at our Website via a link from a third party site, the URL of the linking page.
In addition to Cookies, our Website and email marketing communications may use web beacons. A web beacon, also known as a tracking pixel, is a line of code which is used in email marketing communications and Websites to measure a user’s interaction with a service or product.
Different types of cookies and how we use them
Functional - These are Cookies which are essential for the running of our Website and Service. Without these Cookies, parts of our Website and Service would not function. These Cookies do not track where you have been on the internet and do not gather information about you that could be used for marketing purposes.
Examples of how we may use functional Cookies include:
Remembering returning users as a convenience to eliminate the need to re-enter their details.
Setting unique identifiers for each unique visitor, so that Website traffic can be analyzed.
Analytical Performance - Analytical performance Cookies are used to monitor the performance of our Website, for example, to determine the number of page views and the number of unique users our Website and Service has. We use this information to improve user experience or identify areas of the Website and Service which may require maintenance. The information is anonymous (i.e. it cannot be used to identify you and does not contain Personal Information about you) and it is only used for statistical purposes.
Examples of how we may use analytical Cookies include:
Gathering data about visits to our Website and Service, including numbers of visitors and visits, length of time spent on the site, pages clicked on or where visitors have come from
Analyze which pages are viewed and how long for and which links are followed to better develop our Website and Service
Measuring users’ behavior
Third Party Cookies - You may notice on some pages of our Website and Service that Cookies have been set that are not related to us. We do not control the use of these third party Cookies and cannot access them due to the way that Cookies work, as Cookies can only be accessed by the party who originally set them. Please check the third party websites for more information about these Cookies:
Google: https://policies.google.com/technologies/cookies
Microsoft: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/privacy/privacystatement#maincookiessimilartechnologiesmodule
7. Protecting your information
We take the security of your personal information seriously and implement a variety of industry-standard safeguards to protect it. VoteAmerica is SOC 2 certified, which means our systems and processes meet rigorous standards for security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. We are also HIPAA compliant, ensuring that any health-related information we may collect is handled with strict protections in line with federal privacy and security regulations.
Our security practices include, but are not limited to:
Encryption of data in transit and at rest
Role-based access controls and authentication protocols
Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments
Logging and monitoring of system activity
Secure software development and deployment practices
While we make every effort to protect your personal information, no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. Accordingly, we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we continuously work to maintain and improve our security posture.
In the unlikely event of a data breach, we have established procedures to promptly notify affected users and relevant authorities as required by law. We continuously monitor our systems for potential threats and work diligently to minimize any risks to your personal information.
8. Links to third party services
The Service may also contain features or links to websites and services provided by third parties that we do not operate and are outside of our control. Any personal information you provide on these third party sites or services is provided directly to that third party and is subject to that third party's policies, if any, governing privacy and security, even if accessed through the Service. Please exercise caution and review their applicable privacy and security policies before providing them with Personal information.
9. Advertising and Do Not Track
We use platforms such as Facebook and other social media services to promote our Service. These platforms may collect information about your browsing activity over time and across different websites and services. You may have the option to adjust your advertising preferences directly through these platforms. For example, Facebook users can learn more and manage their ad preferences by visiting the Facebook Help Center.
Please note that our Service does not currently respond to "Do Not Track" (DNT) signals from web browsers. DNT is a browser setting that requests websites not to track your online activity. While we do not respond to DNT signals, we do not collect information about your browsing activity over time and across different websites, except that and services Third parties such as social media platforms or analytics providers may still track your browsing activity. DNT is a browser setting that requests websites not to track your online activity. Because there is no universally accepted standard for how to interpret DNT signals, we do not take any action in response to them at this time.
10. Data retention
We retain data only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this policy or as required by law.
11. International visitors
Our Service is intended for use by individuals located in the United States. If you are accessing the Service from outside the U.S., please be aware that any information you provide will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where our servers are located and our operations are based.
By using the Service or providing us with your information, you acknowledge and consent to the transfer of your personal data to the United States, which may not provide the same level of data protection as your home jurisdiction. We do not represent or warrant that our practices comply with the data protection laws of jurisdictions outside the United States, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union.
If you are located outside the United States and do not agree to the transfer of your personal information, please do not use our Service.
If you have questions or concerns about how your personal data is handled or would like to exercise any applicable privacy rights from your jurisdiction, please contact us at privacy@voteamerica.org.
12. Governing law
By choosing to visit our Service, you agree that any dispute over privacy or the terms contained in this Privacy Policy will be governed by the law of the State of California, without reference to the choice of law or conflicts of law principles thereof, and will be subject to the dispute resolution clause contained in the terms of use applicable to the Services. You also agree to abide by any limitation on damages contained in the terms of use of our Services.
13. Privacy policy changes
We may change our Privacy Policy from time to time at our sole discretion. The most recent version of our Privacy Policy will always be accessible via our homepage at https://about.voteamerica.org/privacy/. We encourage you to regularly check this page for any changes to our Privacy Policy.
14. Our contact information
Please contact us with any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, your Personal Information, our use and disclosure practices, or your consent choices by e-mail at privacy@voteamerica.org. You may also contact us at the following address:
VoteAmerica
530 Divisadero Street
PMB 126
San Francisco, CA 94117