Privacy Policy

The Fisk Voting System ("the Platform") is committed to protecting the privacy of all users. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use our platform.

This policy applies to all students, faculty, staff, and administrators at Fisk University who interact with the Platform in any capacity.

Account Information: When you register, we collect your name, university email address, student ID number, class year, and major. This information is required to verify your identity and eligibility to vote.

Voting Records: We record that you have participated in an election (to prevent duplicate voting), but we never store a link between your identity and your specific vote choices. Your ballot selections are completely anonymous.

Usage Data: We automatically collect technical information such as device type, browser version, IP address, and usage patterns to improve the platform's performance and security.

Communication Data: If you contact our support team, we retain the contents of your communications to resolve your inquiry and improve our service.

Authentication & Eligibility: We use your account information to verify your identity and determine which elections you are eligible to vote in.

Election Integrity: Voting records (participation only, not choices) are used to enforce one-person-one-vote rules and maintain the integrity of elections.

Platform Improvement: Usage data helps us monitor performance, identify bugs, optimize user experience, and plan infrastructure capacity for election periods.

Communication: We may use your email to send election announcements, voting reminders, and important platform updates. You can opt out of non-essential communications.

Security: We analyze usage patterns to detect and prevent fraudulent activity, unauthorized access, and other threats to the platform.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share your data with third-party advertisers or marketing companies.

University Administration: We may share aggregated, non-identifying election statistics (participation rates, turnout numbers) with Fisk University administrators.

Election Results: Vote counts and percentages are made publicly available after an election closes. Individual voting choices are never disclosed.

Legal Requirements: We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or governmental request, or when necessary to protect the rights and safety of the Platform and its users.

Service Providers: We may share limited data with trusted service providers (such as hosting and analytics) who are contractually bound to protect your information.

We implement industry-standard security measures to protect your personal information, including:

•AES-256 encryption for all data at rest and in transit via HTTPS/TLS

•Role-based access controls limiting data access to authorized personnel only

•Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments

•Automated backups stored in encrypted, geographically distributed locations

•Token-based authentication with automatic session expiration

•CSRF and XSS protection on all endpoints

While we strive to protect your information, no method of electronic storage or transmission is 100% secure. We encourage you to use strong, unique passwords for your account.

Account Data: Your account information is retained for as long as you are enrolled at Fisk University. After graduation or departure, accounts are deactivated after one academic year and anonymized after three years.

Voting Records: Participation records are retained for the duration required by university policy (typically 5 years after the election). Anonymous vote data may be retained indefinitely for historical election statistics.

Usage Data: Technical logs are retained for up to 12 months and then automatically deleted.

Communication Data: Support communications are retained for up to 2 years after resolution.

Access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.

Correction: You can update your profile information at any time through your account settings. For other corrections, contact our support team.

Deletion: You may request account deletion through your account settings. We will delete or anonymize your personal data in accordance with our retention policy, except where retention is required by law or university policy.

Opt-Out: You can opt out of non-essential email communications at any time through your notification preferences.

Portability: Upon request, we can provide your personal data in a machine-readable format.

The Platform is not intended for use by individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child under 18, we will take steps to delete it promptly.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable laws. We will notify you of significant changes via email or a prominent notice on the Platform.

Your continued use of the Platform after policy changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us at elections@fiskvote.com.

For data protection inquiries, you may also reach out to Fisk University's Office of Information Technology.