Privacy policy

Dutchess Voice (dutchessvoice.org) is an independent, resident-run site. It shares its accounts and systems with TrackTheSky (trackthesky.org), run by the same volunteers. This policy explains what we collect when you sign a petition or create an account, and what we do with it.

When you sign a petition

• What we collect: your name, email address, street address, and anything you write in the comment box.
• Why we need your address: to place you in your County Legislature, State Senate, Assembly, Congressional and town districts, so we can show each official how many of their own constituents signed. We look the address up with OpenStreetMap’s geocoding service.
• What is public: the total number of signatures, counts by town and district, and, only if you tick the box, your first name, last initial, town and comment. Your email and street address are never shown publicly.
• Who else sees it: when a petition is delivered, the officials it is addressed to may receive the list of signers’ names, towns and districts. We do not give them your email or street address unless you ask us to.
• Email: we email you once to confirm your signature. We only send updates if you tick the box, and every update lets you stop them.

When you create an account

We store your name, email and a securely hashed password, and the type of user you told us you are. Your account works on both Dutchess Voice and TrackTheSky; you sign in separately on each site.

What we never do

• We never sell or rent your information, and never share it with campaigns, parties or advertisers.
• We do not use advertising trackers.

Security and retention

Data is stored on our own server in Dutchess County, reached through an encrypted connection. We keep network addresses only as one-way hashes, to stop abuse. We keep signatures for as long as the petition matters to a public decision, then delete street addresses.

Your choices

You can ask us to remove your signature or your account, or to correct your details, at any time by writing to the contact address on this site. We will confirm by email.