This Privacy Policy describes how VoteShield Protection Services LLC (“VoteShield”) collects, uses, and shares information with respect to your use of its websites located at https://www.voteshield.us and/or https://www.ballotshield.us, including all subdomains (e.g. www.[state].voteshield.us and www.[state].ballotshield.us) (collectively, the “Website”). Before you use or submit any information in connection with the Website, carefully review this Privacy Policy. By using the Website, you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your information as outlined below. The terms “you” or “user” refer to all individuals and entities accessing the Website for any reason. The terms “us” or “we” refer to VoteShield.
VoteShield is a project of Protect Democracy Project (https://protectdemocracy.org), a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to fighting attacks, from at home and abroad, on our right to free, fair, and fully informed self-government. VoteShield provides online platforms that are designed to protect the integrity of U.S. elections. The VoteShield platform analyzes voter registration databases to detect unusual activity in voter data. VoteShield tracks changes to voter rolls and identifies irregularities that may be indicative of malicious interference. The BallotShield platform analyzes absentee ballot request information to detect unusual activity with respect to absentee ballot requests. VoteShield makes its VoteShield and BallotShield platforms (collectively, the “Platforms”) available free of charge to all state and local election administrators and to select individuals.
We collect information about our users when users provide that information to us. We create an account for each user to gain access to the Platforms, and we collect information from you to set up your account. The kinds of information we may collect when setting up your account include your email address, your first and last name, the name of your organization, your phone number, and your preferred state for viewing of data. We also collect information from you (such as your email address) when you request a demo or when you contact us via the Website.
We collect other information from you when you affirmatively provide us with such information. For example, we collect information from you when you place a label within the Platforms to provide an explanation for a perceived change in a voter file.
When you visit the Website, we may automatically receive and record information from your computer or mobile device. This information allows us to understand how people are navigating and using our Website, and how we can improve your experience based on the information we collect. The types of information we may collect include, by way of example only, your IP address, browser type, browser language, operating system, state or country from which you accessed the Website, software and hardware attributes (including device IDs), referring and exit pages and URLs, platform type, the number of clicks, files you download, pages viewed, the amount of time spent on particular pages, the date and time you used the Website, error logs and other similar information. From your IP address, we may be able to infer your general location (e.g., city and state or postal code).
We may use third-party analytics providers and technologies, such as web server logs, cookies and tracking pixels, to help us collect the data described above. We use the term “cookie” in the broad sense to include all similar techniques and technologies. A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your computer or device when you visit a website that stores certain information about your website usage. For example, cookies enable us to recognize your computer; store your preferences and settings; enhance your user experience by delivering content specific to your interests; perform searches and analytics; and assist with security administrative functions.
We use cookies that are created by us, and we may also allow some third party companies to serve cookies as well. Some cookies are necessary to provide you with the services made available through the Website and cannot be turned off. Other kinds of cookies allow you to take advantage of some of the enhanced features of the Website, such as memorizing your preferences. If you disable all cookies, you will not be able to use the Platforms on the Website. We may also use analytics cookies, which help us (or our third party analytics providers) to collect statistics about use of the Website. We use the information collected through analytics cookies to improve the features of our Website.
We may use the information we collect for the purposes for which you provided it, as well as:
We may also aggregate or de-identify information we collect from you so that it is no longer linked to you or your computer or device. We may, in our sole discretion, use such aggregated and de-identified information for any purpose and may share such information with third parties.
We may disclose and/or share your information to or with third parties under the following circumstances:
We have implemented administrative, technical, and physical security measures to protect against the loss, misuse, and/or alteration of your information. These safeguards vary based on the sensitivity of the information that we collect and store. However, we cannot and do not guarantee that these measures will prevent every unauthorized attempt to access, use, or disclose your information because, despite our efforts, no Internet and/or other electronic transmissions can be completely secure.
The laws in some jurisdictions require that website operators tell you about the legal grounds they rely on to use or disclose your information. To the extent those laws apply, our legal grounds for processing your information are as follows:
We may use third-party web analytics services (such as those of Google Analytics) in connection with our Services to collect and analyze the information discussed above, and to engage in auditing, research or reporting. The information (including your IP address) collected by various analytics technologies described in the “Information that Is Passively or Automatically Collected” section will be disclosed to or collected directly by these service providers, who use the information to evaluate your use of the Website, including by noting the third party website from which you arrive, analyzing usage trends, assisting with fraud prevention, and providing certain features to you. Information about how Google uses information collected from sites that use its services is located here. To prevent Google Analytics from using your information for analytics, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on by clicking here.
If you receive an email from us, we may use certain analytics tools, such as clear GIFs, to capture data such as when you open our message or click on any links or banners our email contains. This data allows us to assess the effectiveness of our communications and marketing campaigns to help us grow.
Our computer systems are based in the United States, and your information will be processed in the United States, which may not offer the same level of protection as the privacy laws of your jurisdiction.
The Website is not intended for children under the age of 16. If we become aware that we have collected information from children under the age of 16, we will take reasonable steps to delete it as soon as practicable.
The Website may contain links to third party websites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of such other sites. The collection, use and disclosure of your information will be subject to the privacy policies of those third party websites, not this Privacy Policy. Therefore, we encourage our users to be aware when they leave our Website and to read the privacy policies of every site they visit that collects their information.
Do Not Track (“DNT”) is a privacy preference that users can set in certain web browsers. We do not currently recognize or respond to browser-initiated DNT signals.
If you wish to stop receiving emails from us, please email support@voteshield.us or click the unsubscribe link in the footer of an email from us.
We will continue to review this Privacy Policy as we update and expand the Website and our services, and we may make changes to the Policy accordingly. The date at the bottom of this page indicates the last time changes were made. You should check this page periodically for updates. If we make material changes to this Policy, we will provide you with notice as required by law. Your continued use of the Website will signify acceptance of the terms of the updated Privacy Policy.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, you can contact us by emailing us at support@voteshield.us. Our staff is here to read and respond to any questions, requests, or inquiries in a timely manner.
Last Updated: May 20, 2021