Privacy Policy
Effective date: July 26, 2026. This is a thorough starting template, not legal advice — have a lawyer review it before relying on it, especially if you expect visitors from the EU/UK (GDPR), California (CCPA/CPRA), or other regions with their own privacy laws.
1. Who we are
Voice & Ballot ("we", "us", "our") operates this website as a public register for community petitions. This policy explains what information we collect, why, how it's used, and what choices you have. If you have questions, see Contact us.
2. Information we collect
2.1 Account information
If you create an account to start a petition, we collect: your full legal name (kept private — used only for our internal accountability, never shown publicly), a separate display name you choose (shown publicly wherever your name appears, e.g. "Filed by ___"), your email address, and a securely hashed password (we never store your password in plain text).
2.2 Signature information
Signing a petition does not require an account. When you sign, we collect the name you type (shown publicly, since it's your choice what to enter), your email address (kept private — used only to prevent duplicate signatures and to contact you about that specific petition if needed), and an optional comment (shown publicly if you add one).
2.3 Automatically collected information
Like most websites, our server may log standard technical information (IP address, browser type, pages visited, timestamps) for security and troubleshooting. We also set a small cookie after you sign a petition, purely so your browser can recognize you've already signed it — it doesn't identify you personally beyond that.
2.4 Information from advertising
See section 6 below on advertising and cookies.
3. How we use your information
- To operate your account and let you start and manage petitions
- To record and display signatures, and prevent duplicate signing of the same petition
- To review submitted petitions before publishing them
- To contact you about a petition you've created or signed, if needed
- To maintain the security and integrity of the site
- To comply with legal obligations
We do not sell your personal information to third parties.
4. What's shown publicly vs. kept private
| Shown publicly | Kept private |
|---|---|
| Display name Petition title, summary, and full text Signature count and progress Comments left when signing | Full legal name Email address Password (hashed, never visible even to us in plain form) IP address / technical logs |
5. Legal basis and your rights (GDPR/UK GDPR)
If you're in the EU/UK, we process your information based on: your consent (e.g. when you sign a petition), our legitimate interests (operating and securing the site), and contractual necessity (running your account). You have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal data, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to data portability. To exercise any of these rights, contact us.
6. Advertising and cookies
This site may show ads served by Google, including via Google AdSense. Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this and other websites. Users may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google's Ads Settings.
Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on someone's prior visits to this website or other websites. You can learn more about how Google uses data at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites. You can control cookies generally through your browser settings; blocking cookies may affect how ads and some site features work.
7. Data retention
We keep account and signature information for as long as your account or the petition remains active, plus a reasonable period afterward for record-keeping and legal compliance. You can request earlier deletion by contacting us (see section 9).
8. Data security
We use industry-standard measures to protect your information, including password hashing, CSRF protection on forms, and access controls on our database. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security.
9. Your choices
- You can update your account details or delete your account at any time by contacting us
- You can ask us to remove a signature — see the FAQ for how
- You can opt out of personalized ads through Google's Ads Settings or your browser
10. Children's privacy
This site is not directed at children, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or the relevant minimum age in your region). If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we'll remove it.
11. International visitors
If you're accessing this site from outside the country where it's hosted, your information may be transferred to and processed in a different country, which may have different data protection laws than your own.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the site grows. Material changes will be reflected by updating the "Effective date" above.
13. Contact
Questions about this policy? Contact us.