Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy governs your access to and use of this website (the “Site”) owned and operated by Voter Reference Foundation LLC (“VRF”), an Ohio nonprofit limited liability company.
By using the Site and/or by indicating your assent to this Privacy Policy, you agree that this Privacy Policy governs your use of our Site and any dispute concerning the Site.
Please take a few minutes to read the Privacy Policy before using or registering to access our Site.
INFORMATION COLLECTED ABOUT YOU
The information VRF gathers through the Site falls into two categories: (1) information users voluntarily supply when using the Site, and (2) information collected automatically through users’ use of the Site.
(1) Information You Provide to Us
Unless you voluntarily provide VRF with any personal information, such as your email address, the Site does not collect personal information about you without your knowledge. If you opt-in to VRF email newsletters or other news alerts, VRF will collect personal information about you, such as your name, postal address, email address, username, password, or mobile phone number.
Depending on the nature of the service, you may be free to register for the service without providing this additional information.
You may provide information to VRF when you:
- Complete a web form seeking information on the Site
- Sign up to receive email and/or text message notifications
- Download other information we provide
- Connect with the Site via a social networking site
(2) Information Collected Automatically When You Use the Site
When you visit the Site, VRF collects the following information: The name of the domain from which you access the Internet (for example, aol.com, if you are connecting from an America Online account); the date and time you access the Site; the Internet address of the web site from which you linked directly to the Site or the Internet address of the computer used to link to the Site. This information is used for Site management purposes only.
Tracking Technologies
VRF and our service providers or other third parties acting on our behalf or with our permission, may use embedded scripts, cookies, web beacons, device identifiers and other tracking technologies to operate, analyze, and improve our Site and tailor content to user interests. Third-party companies that provide some of the tools and features accessible through our Site and other websites also may use tracking technologies to collect information about your use of our Site.
A “cookie” is a small text file (often containing a unique identifier) that helps us to make your use of our Site more enjoyable and meaningful to you. Cookies are accessed and recorded by the websites you visit, and by the companies that deliver the advertisements you see on our Site, so they can recognize the same browser navigating online. Cookies can also help you avoid having to log in every time you come back to use the Site. They also allow us to tailor a website to better match your interests and preferences. There are a couple different types of cookies. A “session” cookie is stored only in your computer’s working memory and lasts only for your browsing session. When you close all of your browser’s windows, or when you shut down your computer, the session cookie disappears forever. A “persistent” cookie is stored on your computer’s hard drive until a specified date, which could be tomorrow, next week, or 10 years from now. Persistent cookies stay on your computer until they either: (a) expire; (b) are overwritten with newer cookies; or (c) you manually remove them. Most browsers can be configured not to accept cookies. This may, however, prevent you from having access to some site functions or features. Your browser can also notify you when a cookie is set. (Check the “Help” menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences.) Please be aware that certain browsers cannot block or delete so-called “Flash” cookies, which use a feature of the Adobe Flash video player to store information on your computer. For information about how to delete Flash cookies, please visit the Adobe website here. The Site may use spotlight ads/web beacons/GIF/pixel tags, which are site instrumentation tools that help us to determine, for instance, whether a page has been viewed or not; and if so, how many times. In general, any electronic image viewed as part of a webpage, can act as a web beacon, which is a small string of code that embeds a small graphic image (usually invisible) on a web page or in an email. When your browser downloads a web beacon, the server that sends the corresponding image to your browser can recognize and store certain types of information such as cookies previously set, the time and date that you viewed the page embedded with the beacon and a description of that page.
Mobile Device IDs and Location-Based Information
When you use a mobile device to access the Site, VRF may collect different types of information about your location, including general information (e.g., IP address, zip code) and more specific information (e.g., GPS-based location information).
VRF may use that information to customize the Site with location-based information and features. For example, if your IP address indicates an origin in Reno, the Site may be customized with Reno-specific information. In order to do this, your location information may be shared with our agents or vendors.
If you access the Site through a mobile device and you do not want your device to automatically provide us with location-tracking information, you can disable the GPS or other location-tracking functions on your device, provided your device allows you to do this. See your device manufacturer’s instructions for further details. We may still ask for a zip code or other location information.
Social Network Posting Tools and “Share” Features
VRF may offer social network posting and sharing tools through the Site, including a “share” button that allows you to post links to content and features that you believe will be of interest to others on your social network pages. Those tools are operated by third parties. When you use one of those sharing tools, the third-party company that operates the tool may be collecting information about your browser, device, and online activity through its own tracking technologies and subject to its own, separate privacy policy.
Contributions
In particular, when you make a contribution via the Site, the transaction is processed not on the Site but on a secure donation site using encrypted code on a secure and dedicated web server. The personal information that is requested is the same that VRF would request for donating through the mail. VRF does not retain records of contributors’ credit card numbers.
HOW WE USE THE INFORMATION WE COLLECT
VRF will not use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us for commercial purposes.
VRF might use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us including in the following ways:
- To present our Site and their contents to you;
- To provide you with information or services that you request from us;
- To evaluate and improve the Site, including content, layout, procedures, and navigation, and troubleshoot and perform analytics on the Site;
- To fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it;
- To notify you about changes to our Site;
- To allow you to participate in interactive features on the Site;
- To send you alerts or other communications via email and/or text message or other media;
- To allow us to personalize the content that you see on the Site and to understand how users interact with and use our Site;
- To enforce the legal terms that govern your use of the Site;
- To perform analytics and research aimed at improving the accuracy, effectiveness, usability, or popularity of the Site; and
- In any other way we may describe when you provide the information.
HOW WE SHARE AND DISCLOSE INFORMATION
Except as otherwise expressly noted herein or within the Site, VRF may share information collected with entities affiliated with the Restoration of America, but those entities will explicitly abide by all use restrictions and will use said information only for administration and operation of VRF itself. Here are some of the circumstances in which VRF may share information about our users:
Service Providers
In addition, VRF may share any information collected through the Site with our service providers. We may offer some features (such as social sharing tools) in conjunction with service providers that specialize in operating such Site. We share with each of these service providers such information as is useful or necessary to provide you with the Site we offer through that service provider. The service providers that have access to personally identifiable information are required to protect this information in a manner that is consistent with this Privacy Policy, for example, by not using the information for any purpose other than to carry out the services they are performing for VRF.
Aggregated and Anonymous Information
Our service providers may render information anonymous by removing any information (such as your name) that makes the information personally identifying to you. Our service providers may combine information about you with information that we or they collect about other users of our Site or other web services and share it in a form that does not identify you personally.
Legal Uses
We may disclose your personal information to comply with any court order, law, or legal process, including in response to any government or regulatory request; to enforce or apply our terms of use and other agreements, including for billing and collection purposes; or if we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of VRF, our users, or others.
Transfers Between Entities
We may disclose any information we collect to successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution or other sale or transfer of some or all of VRF’s assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by VRF about users of our Site is among the assets transferred. We may also disclose any information we collect to other companies that are affiliated with VRF.
Text opt-in consent data will not be sold or shared with third parties for promotional or marketing purposes. Except as otherwise stated, we do not sell, trade, rent, or otherwise share for marketing purposes your Personal Information with third parties without your consent.
YOUR OPT-OUT CHOICES
If you want to opt out from a VRF email newsletter or other email list, use the unsubscribe link at the bottom of each message or send us an email at privacy@voterreferencefoundation.com with the email address at which you no longer wish to receive newsletters or other emails.
If you want to disable web beacons in our email messages, turn images “off” in your email system (e.g., Outlook or Outlook Express). Check the settings or options menu in your email system for more information.
Precise Device Location Tracking
If you agreed to allow VRF and/or our service providers to collect and/or share information about the precise location of your device by tracking a mobile application, you can withdraw your permission by accessing and changing your device’s location privacy settings.
This will prevent further collection of your precise device location information. Each operating system, iOS for Apple devices, and Android for Android devices, provides its own instructions on how to turn off precise location sharing. Access the privacy settings for your mobile device or contact your platform operator for more information.
INFORMATION SECURITY
We have implemented reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security measures to protect against the unauthorized access, destruction, or alteration of your information. No security system is impenetrable, however. We cannot guarantee the security of our databases, nor can we guarantee that information you supply will not be intercepted while being transmitted to us over the internet or that information we collect will never be disclosed in a manner that is inconsistent with this Privacy Policy.
CORRECTING OR UPDATING YOUR INFORMATION
You may update or access and edit certain personally identifying information that you have provided to us through our Services. To update this information, please send us an email at privacy@voterreferencefoundation.com.
LINKS TO OTHER SITES
The Site may provide links that link to other websites. We encourage you to review the privacy statements of all sites that you visit, including those whose links are provided, so that you can understand how those sites collect, use, and share your information. VRF is not responsible for the privacy statements, content, or data handling practices on other websites.
INTERNATIONAL DATA
The Site is hosted in the United States. United States law governs the Site, and United States data protection laws may not be as protective as those in your country. If you are outside the United States or are not a United States citizen, you should not use the Site. User information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States where our servers are located and our databases are operated, and you consent to the use and storage of your information in the United States.
CHILDREN UNDER 13
The Site is not intended for children under 13 years of age, and VRF does not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you are under the age of 13, do not: use, or provide any information on, the Site; use any of the interactive or public comment features of the Site; or otherwise provide any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, email address or any screen name or username you may use. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any personal information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at privacy@voterreferencefoundation.com.
Changes to Our Privacy Policy
VRF reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changes in the law, our data collection and use practices, the features of our Site, or advances in technology. If we decide to change our Privacy Policy, we will post the changes here and indicate at the top of the Privacy Policy the last date on which it was updated. Please check the Privacy Policy periodically for changes. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of changes to this Privacy Policy will mean you accept those changes.