Privacy Policy

The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) respects the right to privacy of visitors to our websites. IFES hosts or controls various websites and apps, including www.IFES.org, www.ElectionAccess.org, www.ElectionGuide.org, www.IFESUkraine.org, www.SWMENA.org, www.ichartisawti.com and the Icharti-Sawti Lexicon mobile apps for web/Android/iOS (collectively our "Websites").

Our privacy practices are described below to inform you how we collect, use and share personal and device information that we obtain from users of the Websites. This Privacy Policy applies to all visitors and users of websites hosted or controlled by IFES that link to this Privacy Policy. For more information, see IFES' Data Protection Policy.

This Privacy Statement covers the following topics:

  • CONSENT
  • OUR COLLECTION OF INFORMATION
  • OUR USE OF INFORMATION
  • INFORMATION WE DISCLOSE TO THIRD PARTIES
  • HOW LONG WE KEEP DEVICE INFORMATION
  • SECURITY
  • EUROPEAN UNION USERS – CONSENT FOR TRANSFER OF DATA TO THE UNITED STATES
  • YOUR ACCESS TO AND CONTROL OVER INFORMATION
  • UPDATES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
  • COOKIES
  • CONTACT INFORMATION

Consent

By clicking on the consent pop-up and continuing to the website, you are consenting to the collection of Personal and Device Information as described in this Privacy Policy.

Our Collection of Information

Personal Information You Provide. Our Websites allow you to provide personal information such as name, address, email address and telephone number. Our Websites may request you to provide information regarding your interests or to sign up for specific types of communications from us.

Device Information - that is, information about you or your activities, (such as your Internet Protocol Address, browser characteristics, device characteristics, operating system, language preferences, referring URLs, information on actions taken on our website, and dates and times of website visits) through which we do not attempt to identify you but through which it may be possible to identify you. Examples of technologies used of Collect Device Information include: log files, cookies and pixel tags. More information on this technology can be found in the Cookies Section Below.

We collect Personal Information from our online visitors only when voluntarily offered when those visitors log in to certain parts of the website or sign up for email communications or notifications. We may also collect Device Information from users of the IFES website.

Icharti-Sawti website and mobile app, built on IFES’ award winning Electoral Sign Language Lexicon, provides deaf and hard-of-hearing populations with voter education materials as well as other relevant civic engagement and democracy-related information. The Icharti-Sawti mobile apps for web/Android/iOS collect some user information when using the login feature with Facebook and Google: Public full name; Email address (or phone number); or Public profile picture.

Our Use of Information

We use the Personal Information that we gather and that you provide in order to perform and monitor performance of any contract you enter with us. This includes using the information: (i) to understand your preferences, provide you with a better service, and respond to your inquiries; (ii) for internal recordkeeping; (iii) for internal analysis; and (iv) to administer offers for which you provided Personal Information. It is not possible for us to enter a contract with you unless you provide this Personal Information.

We use the Device Information for our legitimate interests, such to allow our website to operate, to improve our products and services, and to measure the number of visitors to the IFES website and the areas of the website that are of most interest to our visitors.

We may share your Personal Information with another entity or with unrelated third parties (including contractors who provide services to us) to assist with any of the uses of Personal and Device Information described herein. For example, we may share and/or provide your Device Information with/to third parties that assist with the operation, administration, or maintenance of our website.

At no time will we sell, barter or lease your information or any information of IFES donors to any third party.

Information We Disclose to Third Parties

  1. Service Providers. Please be aware that we may use third parties to assist us with this website. Some examples of the assistance that may be provided by third party service providers are: hosting the website; processing donations; providing fraud prevention services; monitoring and analyzing site activity; conducting surveys; and administering emails. These third parties may have access to and use of the information collected from you in order to perform services for us.
     
  2. Partners. We may occasionally participate in events, programs or projects with other organizations. The information you provide through your registration or indication of interest for the event, program or project may be shared among these partners.
     
  3. Legal Disclosures. You should also be aware that we may disclose specific information about you if necessary to do so by law; based on our good faith belief that it is necessary to conform or comply with the law; or is necessary to protect the users of our website, the website or the public.
     
  4. Change of Control. If we were ever merged with or acquired by another organization, or if we acquire another organization or are involved in a reorganization or other change of control, some or all of the personal information collected about you could be shared with this entity, and may also be retained by us.

How Long We Keep Device Information

We only keep Device Information to remember your consent preferences. 

Security

We are committed to ensuring that your Personal Information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorized access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

European Union Users

PLEASE NOTE: THIS WEBSITE IS A UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BASED WEBSITE. THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION HAS DETERMINED THAT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA DOES NOT PROVIDE AN ADEQUATE LEVEL OF PROTECTION IN ACCORDANCE WITH REGULATION (EU) 2016/679 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL OF 27 APRIL 2016 (THE GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION OR “GDPR”). THE UNITED STATES DOES NOT REQUIRE THE SAME LEVEL OF INFORMATION SECURITY OR PROHIBITION ON PRIMARY OR SECONDARY USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION. ADDITIONALLY THE UNITED STATES DOES NOT HAVE A NATIONAL DATA PROTECTION AUTHORITY AND YOUR ABILITY FOR LEGAL RECOURSE OF A VIOLATION OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY MAY BE SEVERELY LIMITED (AS OPPOSED TO THE RECOURSE MECHANISMS PROVIDED UNDER EUROPEAN UNION LAW). BY CONSENTING TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THE RISKS INVOLVED AND ARE HEREBY EXPRESSLY CONSENTING TO THE TRANSFER OF PERSONAL AND/OR DEVICE DATA TO THE UNITED STATES.

Your Access To and Control Over Information

You can request access to Personal Information we hold about you and also ask, if you are not a current customer, to be removed from our database. If the Personal Information we hold about you is incorrect, we will change it upon your request. Please email your request to media@ifes.org. Please state “Request/Remove/Change Personal Data” in the subject line of your email.

You may also unsubscribe from our email newsletters through a link at the bottom of each email newsletter received from us.

You may at any time print, download, or request a printed copy of this privacy policy.

Updates To This Privacy Policy

As we continue to offer our visitors new and different types of content and services, we may modify our information collection, use or disclosure practices. Should there be a material change to our information collection, use or disclosure practices, we will notify you of any material changes to this Privacy Statement by posting a link on the home page of our website(s) that says “Revised Privacy Statement.” We will also indicate a revised Effective Date at the top of this Privacy Policy and the changes in the Privacy Statement will not be effective until 30 days after first posting the revised version. Please check this Privacy Statement regularly. Finally, any changes will be applied only to information collected on a going-forward basis.

Cookies

When you visit the IFES website, we may use “cookies” and similar technologies to help us recognize and serve you better. Cookies are small files that contain information sent by a website that is saved on your computer’s hard drive. A list of all cookies used on this website by category is set out below. You may delete cookies from your computer or set your browser to reject cookies.

“Strictly Necessary” Cookies

These cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around the website and use its features. Without these cookies, services you have asked for cannot be provided.

“Performance” Cookies

These cookies collect information about how visitors use a website, for instance which pages visitors go to most often, and if they get error messages from web pages. These cookies don’t collect information that identifies a visitor. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. It is only used to improve how a website works.

“Functionality” Cookies

These cookies allow the website to remember choices you make (such as your user name, language or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. These cookies can also be used to remember changes you have made to text size, fonts and other parts of web pages that you can customize. They may also be used to provide services you have asked for such as watching a video or commenting on a blog. The information these cookies collect is anonymous and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.

“Log Files”

Log files are small text files that websites automatically create when a user visits a site. Log files allow us to collect navigational information about your visit on our website, such as the URL of the page from which you arrived, your IP address and technical information regarding your device used to visit our website, such as browser type and version.

“Pixel Tags”

Pixel tags (also known as web beacons, web bugs and clear GIFs) are nearly invisible pixel-sized graphic images on a webpage or in an email message. Pixel tags may be used to collect the same information about your visit that is collected through cookies, as noted above. Pixel tags in emails help us confirm the receipt of, and response to, our emails and the time our email is viewed. In addition, we may collect information related to when and where you “click-through” in an email to one of our Websites.

We may also use other technologies to automatically collect and store similar information related to your interactions with our website and emails.

Contact Information

If you have any questions or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy or collection of Personal Information please contact us at media@ifes.org or IFES, 2011 Crystal Drive, 10th Floor, Arlington, VA 22202, United States.