Terms of Use

1. What the Site is

The Ballot publishes nonpartisan coverage of US elections: who is running for federal and state office, where candidates stand on the issues, election dates and voter deadlines, and news about the races that affect your ballot. Nothing on the Site is legal, financial, or voting advice, and nothing on the Site is an instruction on how to vote.

2. No endorsements

The Ballot does not endorse any candidate, party, or ballot measure. Candidate and race pages are structured to give equal presentation to every candidate in a contest, regardless of party. Any reader-facing reactions, votes, or polls on the Site are informal engagement features, not opinion research, and are not an endorsement by us or a prediction of an outcome.

3. Sourcing and accuracy

Candidate, race, and campaign finance data draws on public sources such as OpenFEC, Open States, Congress.gov, and state and county election offices, along with candidates' own public statements and filings. We link to sources on candidate and race pages where possible. Articles are drafted from public records and reviewed against those sources before publication.

Coverage on the Site is informational and provided for general reference. Election dates, deadlines, polling locations, and identification requirements can change. Always confirm these details directly with your state or county election office before you vote; do not rely solely on this Site for time-sensitive voting decisions.

4. Corrections

If you believe something on the Site is inaccurate, including a candidate's own information, tell us through the contact form and select the appropriate reason. We verify against the original source and correct confirmed errors as quickly as we can; substantive corrections are noted on the affected page.

5. Editorial independence

Advertising, sponsorships, and analytics never determine which races or candidates we cover or how we describe them. Editorial decisions are made independently of advertisers and any political organization.

6. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• scrape, crawl, or bulk-download the Site except as permitted by our robots file;
• republish substantial portions of our content without written permission;
• interfere with the Site's operation or attempt to manipulate votes, reactions, or forms;
• use the Site to send spam, malware, or unlawful commercial solicitation;
• use the Site or its data to target voters with misleading information about voting.

7. Our content

Editorial text, page design, logos, and the arrangement of the Site are owned by The Ballot and protected by copyright and trademark law. You may link to and quote short excerpts with attribution. Everything else requires permission.

8. Advertising disclosure

The Site may display advertising. Advertising is visually distinguished from editorial content and never determines editorial judgments about a race or candidate.

9. Accuracy disclaimer

The Site is provided "as is" and "as available." We disclaim all warranties to the fullest extent permitted by law, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that candidate information, election dates, deadlines, or any other detail shown on the Site is complete, current, or error-free. Voters are responsible for confirming registration status, polling location, ballot contents, and deadlines with their state or county election office.

10. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, The Ballot will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, arising from your use of the Site or reliance on its content. Our total liability for any claim relating to the Site will not exceed one hundred US dollars.

11. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold The Ballot harmless from claims, damages, and reasonable legal fees arising from your misuse of the Site or your breach of these Terms.

12. Changes

We may update these Terms. When we do, we will change the effective date above. Continued use of the Site after an update means you accept the revised Terms.

13. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of New Jersey, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Disputes will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in New Jersey, and you consent to that jurisdiction.

14. Contact

Questions about these Terms: legal@theballot.news. You can also use our contact form.