Terms of Service

Last Updated: September 8, 2021

These Terms of Service ("Terms") apply to your access to and use of the websites, mobile applications, and online services (collectively, the "Services") provided by VOTER FORMATION PROJECT ("VFP"). If you do not agree to these Terms, including the mandatory arbitration provision and class action waiver in Section 12, do not use the Services.

If you have any questions about these Terms or the Services, please contact us at hello@voterformationproject.org.

1. Privacy Policy

For information about how we collect, use, share and otherwise process information about you, please see our Privacy Policy.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 17 years of age to use the Services. If you are under 18 years of age (or the age of legal majority where you live), you may use the Services only under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to be bound by these Terms. If you are a parent or legal guardian of a user under the age of 18 (or the age of legal majority), you agree to be fully responsible for the acts or omissions of such user in relation to the Services. If you use the Services on behalf of another person or entity, (a) all references to "you" throughout these Terms will include that person or entity, (b) you represent that you are authorized to accept these Terms on that person's or entity's behalf, and (c) in the event you or that person or entity violates these Terms, that person or entity agrees to be responsible to us.

3. Prohibited Conduct and Content

You will not violate any applicable law, contract, intellectual property or other third-party right, or commit a tort, and you are solely responsible for your conduct while using the Services. You will not:

Engage in any harassing, threatening, intimidating, predatory, or stalking conduct;
Impersonate or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
Sell, resell, or commercially use the Services;
Copy, reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, or publicly display all or portions of the Services, except as expressly permitted by us or our licensors;
Modify the Services, remove any proprietary rights notices or markings, or otherwise make any derivative works based upon the Services;
Use the Services other than for its intended purpose and in any manner that could interfere with, disrupt, negatively affect, or inhibit other users from fully enjoying the Services or that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair the functioning of the Services in any manner;
Reverse engineer any aspect of the Services or do anything that might discover source code or that might bypass or circumvent measures employed to prevent or limit access to any part of the Services;
Attempt to circumvent any content-filtering techniques we employ or attempt to access any feature or area of the Services that you are not authorized to access;
Use any data mining, robots, or similar data gathering or extraction methods designed to scrape or extract data from the Services;
Develop or use any applications that interact with the Services without our prior written consent;
Use the Services in any way to send or distribute spam, unsolicited or bulk commercial electronic communications, chain letters, or pyramid schemes;
Bypass or ignore instructions contained in our robots.txt file; or
Use the Services for any illegal, unintended, or unauthorized purpose, or engage in, encourage, or promote any activity that violates these Terms.

Enforcement of this Section 3 is solely at VFP's discretion, and failure to enforce any terms or conditions set forth in this section in some instances does not constitute a waiver of our right to enforce such terms and conditions in other instances. In addition, this Section 3 does not create any private right of action on the part of any third party or any reasonable expectation that the Services will not contain any content that is prohibited by this section.

4. Ownership; Limited License

The Services, including the text, graphics, images, photos, videos, illustrations, and other content contained therein, are owned by VFP or our licensors, and are protected under both United States and foreign laws. Except as explicitly stated in these Terms, all rights in and to the Services are reserved by us or our licensors. Subject to your compliance with these Terms, you are hereby granted a limited, nonexclusive, nontransferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to access and use the Services for your own personal, non-commercial use. Any use of the Services other than as specifically authorized herein, without our prior written permission, is strictly prohibited, will terminate the license granted to you in this section, and may subject you to additional penalties under applicable law.

5. Trademarks

"VOTER FORMATION PROJECT" and our logos, slogans, and the look and feel of the Services are trademarks of VFP and may not be copied, imitated, or used, in whole or in part, without our prior written permission. All other trademarks, registered trademarks, product and service names, and company names and logos mentioned on the Services are the property of their respective owners. Reference to any products, services, processes, or other information, by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, supplier, or otherwise does not constitute or imply endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation by VFP.

6. Feedback

Any questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, original or creative materials, or other information about VFP or the Services that you voluntarily submit or otherwise communicate or provide to us (collectively, "Feedback") is non-confidential and will become the sole property of VFP. We will own exclusive rights, including all intellectual property rights, in and to Feedback and will be entitled to the unrestricted use and dissemination of Feedback for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgment or compensation to you.

7. Third-Party Content

We may provide information about third-party products, services, activities, or events, or we may allow third parties to make their content and information available on or through the Services (collectively, "Third-Party Content"). We provide Third-Party Content as a service to those interested in such content. Your dealings or correspondence with third parties and your use of or interaction with any Third-Party Content are solely between you and the third party. VFP does not control or endorse, and makes no representations or warranties regarding, any Third-Party Content. Your access to and use of Third-Party Content is at your own risk.

8. Indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless VFP and our officers, directors, advisors, agents, partners, and employees (individually and collectively, the "VFP Parties") from and against any loss, liability, claim, demand, damages, expenses, or costs ("Claims") arising out of or related to (a) your access to or use of the Services; (b) the Feedback you provide; (c) your violation of these Terms; (d) your violation, misappropriation, or infringement of any rights of any person or entity (including intellectual property rights or privacy rights); or (e) your conduct in connection with the Services. You agree to promptly notify the VFP Parties of any third-party Claims, cooperate with the VFP Parties in defending such Claims, and pay all fees, costs, and expenses associated with defending such Claims (including reasonable attorneys' fees). You also agree that the VFP Parties will have control of the defense or settlement, at VFP's sole option, of any third-party Claims. This indemnity is in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other indemnities set forth in a written agreement between you and VFP or any other VFP Parties.

9. Disclaimers

Your use of the Services is at your sole risk. Except as otherwise provided in a writing by VFP, the Services is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. In addition, VFP does not represent or warrant that the Services is accurate, complete, reliable, current, or error-free. While VFP attempts to make your use of the Services safe, VFP cannot and does not represent or warrant that the Services or our servers are free of viruses or other harmful components. You assume the entire risk as to the quality and performance of the Services.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, VFP and the other VFP Parties will not be liable to you under any theory of liability—whether based in contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, warranty, or otherwise—for any indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, punitive, or special damages or lost profits, even if VFP or other VFP Parties have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

The total liability of VFP and the other VFP Parties, for any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services, regardless of the form of the action, is limited to [$100].

The limitations set forth in this section will not limit or exclude liability for the gross negligence, fraud or intentional misconduct of VFP or the other VFP Parties or for any other matters in which liability cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law. Additionally, some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you.

11. Transfer and Processing Data

In order for us to provide the Services, you agree that we may process, transfer, and store information about you in the United States and other countries, where you may not have the same rights and protections as you do under local law.

12. Dispute Resolution; Binding Arbitration

Please read the following section carefully because it requires you to arbitrate certain disputes and claims with VFP and limits the manner in which you can seek relief from us, unless you opt out of arbitration by following the instructions set forth in this section below. No class or representative actions or arbitrations are allowed under this arbitration agreement. In addition, arbitration precludes you from suing in court or having a jury trial.

No Representative Actions. You and VFP agree that any dispute arising out of or related to these Terms or the Services is personal to you and VFP and that any dispute will be resolved solely through individual action, and will not be brought as a class arbitration, class action or any other type of representative proceeding.

Arbitration of Disputes. Except for small claims disputes in which you or VFP seek to bring an individual action in small claims court located in the county of your billing address or disputes in which you or VFP seek injunctive or other equitable relief for the alleged unlawful use of intellectual property, you and VFP waive your rights to a jury trial and to have any dispute arising out of or related to these Terms or the Services resolved in court. Instead, for any dispute or claim that you have against VFP, you agree to first contact VFP and attempt to resolve the claim informally by sending a written notice of your claim ("Notice") to VFP by email at hello@voterformationproject.org with "Claim Resolution" in the subject line or by certified mail addressed to: Voter Formation Project, 712 H St NE PMB 41, Washington, DC 20002. The Notice must (a) include your name, residence address, email address, and telephone number; (b) describe the nature and basis of the claim; and (c) set forth the specific relief sought. Our notice to you will be similar in form to that described above. If you and VFP cannot reach an agreement to resolve the claim within thirty (30) days after such Notice is received, then either party may, as appropriate in accordance with this section, submit the dispute to binding arbitration administered by JAMS or, under the limited circumstances set forth in this section above, in court. All disputes submitted to JAMS will be resolved through confidential binding arbitration held in Washington DC or may be conducted telephonically or via video conference for disputes alleging damages less than $10,000. in accordance with the Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures ("Rules") of the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services ("JAMS"), which are available on the JAMS website and are hereby incorporated by reference. You either acknowledge and agree that you have read and understand the Rules or waive your opportunity to read the Rules and any claim that the Rules are unfair or should not apply for any reason.

You and VFP agree that these Terms affect interstate commerce and that the enforceability of this Section 12 will be substantively and procedurally governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1, et seq. (the "FAA"), to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law. As limited by the FAA, these Terms and the JAMS Rules, the arbitrator will have exclusive authority to make all procedural and substantive decisions regarding any dispute and to grant any remedy that would otherwise be available in court, including the power to determine the question of arbitrability. The arbitrator may conduct only an individual arbitration and may not consolidate more than one individual's claims, preside over any type of class or representative proceeding, or preside over any proceeding involving more than one individual.

The arbitrators, VFP, and you will maintain the confidentiality of any arbitration proceedings, judgments and awards, including all information gathered, prepared, and presented for purposes of the arbitration or related to the dispute(s) therein. The arbitrators will have the authority to make appropriate rulings to safeguard confidentiality, unless applicable law provides to the contrary. The duty of confidentiality does not apply to the extent that disclosure is necessary to prepare for or conduct the arbitration hearing on the merits, in connection with a court application for a preliminary remedy or in connection with a judicial challenge to an arbitration award or its enforcement, or to the extent that disclosure is otherwise required by applicable law or judicial decision.

You and VFP agree that for any arbitration you initiate, you will pay the filing fee and VFP will pay the remaining JAMS fees and costs. For any arbitration initiated by VFP, VFP will pay all JAMS fees and costs. You and VFP agree that the state or federal courts of Washington DC and the United States sitting in Washington DC have exclusive jurisdiction over any appeals and the enforcement of an arbitration award.

Any claim arising out of or related to these Terms or the Services must be filed within one (1) year after such claim arose; otherwise, such claim is permanently barred, which means that you and VFP will not have the right to assert the claim.

You have the right to opt out of binding arbitration within thirty (30) days of the date you first accepted the terms of this Section 12 by sending a written opt-out notice to VFP by email at hello@voterformationproject.org with "Arbitration Opt-out" in the subject line. In order to be effective, the opt-out notice must include your full name and address and clearly indicate your intent to opt out of binding arbitration. By opting out of binding arbitration, you are agreeing to resolve disputes in accordance with Section 13.

If any portion of this arbitration section is found to be unenforceable or unlawful for any reason, (i) the unenforceable or unlawful provision will be severed from these Terms; (ii) severance of the unenforceable or unlawful provision will have no impact whatsoever on the remainder of this arbitration section or the parties' ability to compel arbitration of any remaining claims on an individual basis pursuant to this arbitration section; and (iii) to the extent that any claims must therefore proceed on a class, collective, consolidated, or representative basis, such claims must be litigated in a civil court of competent jurisdiction and not in arbitration, and the parties agree that litigation of those claims will be stayed pending the outcome of any individual claims in arbitration. Further, if any part of this arbitration section is found to prohibit an individual claim seeking public injunctive relief, that provision will have no effect to the extent such relief is allowed to be sought out of arbitration, and the remainder of this section will be enforceable.

13. Governing Law and Venue

Any dispute arising out of or related to these Terms and your use of the Services will be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of Washington DC, except to the extent preempted by United States federal law, without regard to conflict of law rules or principles that would cause the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction. Any dispute between the parties that is not subject to arbitration as set forth in these Terms or cannot be heard in small claims court will be resolved in the state or federal courts of Washington DC and the United States, respectively, sitting in Washington DC.

14. Modifying and Terminating the Services

We reserve the right to modify the Services or to suspend or stop providing all or portions of the Services at any time. You also have the right to stop using the Services at any time. We are not responsible for any loss or harm related to your inability to access or use the Services.

15. Changes to these Terms

We may make changes to these Terms from time to time. If we make any changes, we will provide you with notice of such changes, such as by sending an email notification, providing notice through the Services, or updating the "Last Updated" date above. Unless we say otherwise in our notice, the amended Terms will be effective immediately and your continued access to and use of the Services after we provide notice will confirm your acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree to any of the amended terms and conditions set forth in the amended Terms, you must stop using the Services.

16. Interpretation

In these terms, the terms "including" and "include" will mean "including but not limited to" and references to a "Section" will mean a section of these Terms, unless otherwise expressly stated. All section titles in these Terms are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.

17. Severability

If any provision or part of a provision of these Terms is unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that provision or part of the provision is deemed severable from these Terms and does not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.

18. Miscellaneous

The failure of VFP to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not operate as a waiver of such right or provision. Except as otherwise provided in these Terms, these Terms are intended solely for the benefit of the parties and are not intended to confer third-party beneficiary rights upon any other person or entity. You agree that communications and transactions between us may be conducted electronically.