Q. Where can I send feedback?
A. Please send any feedback you may have to support@electorate.me.
Q. What is Electorate.Me?
A. Electorate.Me is the social website that gives Americans control of the conversations about the social and political issues in the communities where we live and vote. At Electorate.Me, neighbors discuss pressing local, regional, and national issues, communicate directly with elected officials, and join together to strengthen their common causes.
Q. Is Electorate.Me FREE?
A. Yes. Electorate.Me is FREE! Sign up or log in to see what's inside.
Q. How does Electorate.Me work?
A. Electorate.Me is easy to use:
Post -Electorate.Me allows you to post anything on any topic in your communities at any time. These aren’t status updates like you may be used to from other sites. This is a place for serious posts and serious discussions about our collective future! Be sure to "tag" your post with the issue or issues that best represent your post. These issue tags help you and your neighbors focus on relevant issues.
Share - Electorate.Me is fully integrated with Facebook. Rather than posting your ideas on a blog that no one can find, posting to Electorate.Me shares your posts with not just your Facebook friends, but also your entire community! This is how conversation happens. You can also share your posts with non-users through the SHARE button.
Engage - Electorate.Me allows you to engage in events in your communities and invite others to join you there. Maybe it is the School Board meeting where they are considering the education of the next generation or a rally on the courthouse steps. With Electorate.Me, create a new event complete with the 5Ws and get out of the house and join your neighbors in front of our elected officials.
Q. Does Electorate.Me moderate content?
A. No. There are no moderators on Electorate.Me. However, there is a Terms of Use policy that sets standards for appropriate conduct. These standards are meant to protect free speech while also protecting you and Electorate.Me from abuse and injury. Since some people will invariably try to abuse the system, any user can flag content in their community as inappropriate – for review by Electorate.Me for compliance with the Terms of Use – or as a copyright violation.
Since no one under 18 is a member of the electorate, we are all adults here and should be mature enough to be self moderated. After all, the United States is called the greatest experiment in self government – a people that could setup “governments of their own, under their own authority.” We should be able to self govern online too.
Q. Why do you ask for my Facebook profile information?
A. We do this for two reasons. First, it keeps things simple, saving you having to create an entirely new profile with a new user name and password. Second, it helps Electorate.Me users verify (to a certain degree) that you are a real person. When people sign up and log in with their Facebook accounts, their number of friends/followers is shown to other users. The goal is to give you some reassurance that those in your community are who they claim to be.
We’ll be rolling out more features to improve integration with other social networks and additional identity verification features soon.
Q. Why did Electorate.Me put me in the wrong community when I joined?
A. When you authorized Electorate.Me limited access to your Facebook profile, we pulled your current city in order to put you in the right communities. If you ended up in a community you don't actually live in, it is likely just a reflection of your Facebook profile. This sometimes happens because some users list a big city in their profile - like Dallas - when they actually live in one of the suburbs or the user lives outside the city limits but lists the closest city in their Facebook profile. You can easily update your community selections by visiting "Settings" -> "My Communities."
Q. Where are the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy?
A. The Terms of Use and Privacy Policy are VERY important. You should read them, think about them, and understand them before you participate in the conversation on Electorate.Me.
The Terms of Use govern your use of Electorate.Me to protect you, us, and our communities from abuse. Terms of Use can be found at: http://www.electorate.me/pages/terms-of-use
The Privacy Policy explains how Electorate.Me uses your information to make your experience more relevant. Privacy Policy can be found at: http://www.electorate.me/pages/privacy-policy
Q. Who is Electorate.Me, LLC?
A. Electorate.Me, LLC is a for-profit company located in Northern Virginia. Our contact information is located on our contact page.
WriteMyRep
Q. What is WriteMyRep?
A. WriteMyRep is a service of Electorate.Me that provides Americans a convenient and effective way to reach elected representives.
Q. Should I choose Letter, Fax, or Email?
A. With WriteMyRep, the choice is entirely yours. Email is cheap and very convenient, but surveys of elected representatives continue to indicate that written, signed letters from real constituents are the most effective means of influencing their opinions and votes. Numerous advocacy groups have abused email over the years and it has had the effect of making some elected officials mistrust email communication.
If a signed letter is the most effective method of reaching your officials, you should consider these options first - signed letters delivered by the USPS stand out from the crowd. But, it does take time for letters to transit the USPS and sometimes your message needs to be delivered right away. The fax options will get your signed letter into your representatives’ hands without the delay of the USPS.
Q. What does the letter I send look like?
A. Your letter is printed on high-quality, Letter-size, White 24 lb. Bond paper and we use high-quality, Number 10, White, 24lb. Double Window envelopes.
Q. When will my letter be delivered?
A. Letters are transferred to the post office once a day on business days at about 11am EST. Letters submitted before that time will make it into the transferred batch. Once transferred to the USPS, standard USPS delivery times apply.
Q. Why does it cost money to send messages to my elected reps?
A. Because it costs us money to send messages to your elected representatives. You can, of course, find other ways to contact your elected reps but none of those are free either. There may be someone providing you an “apparently free” way to contact your rep, but someone is paying someone else to deliver your message and we think you should consider “why” before using those services. With WriteMyRep, you pay to send your message to your rep directly and your information is not resold, you aren’t added to mailing lists, etc. Charging a small and reasonable fee for our service also allows us to continue to improve the tools to make the impact of your letters greater.
Q. What Do You Do with My Personal Information?
A. Electorate.Me does not sell or otherwise use your personal information for any other purpose than facilitating your communication with your elected representatives. More detailed information on what lengths we go to protect your privacy and what ways your personal information may be used for can be found in our privacy policy.
Q. What happens when I Connect with Facebook?
A. Connecting with Facebook increases the impact of your letter by letting you share it with your friends on Facebook. When you Connect with Facebook, you get a free Electorate.Me account that enables you to post your activity to Facebook, or if you like, the full text of your letter (minus your contact information of course) publicly in your community on Electorate.Me.
Q. What is Google Wallet?
A. Google Wallet is a digital payment service from Google designed to make it easier for customers to make online and traditional in-store purchases. Google Wallet’s online payment service is designed to securely store customers’ credit and debit card information in order to simplify online purchases for customers. We never see or store your credit card information, Google takes care of it all for us.