Open APIs and Public Data
Civic Forecast is built on public APIs, open government data, and openly licensed research. This policy explains where that material comes from, the terms we access it under, how we attribute it, what we do and do not republish, and how a provider or an individual can ask us to correct or remove something. It supplements our Terms and Conditions and our Privacy Policy. Where this policy and the Terms conflict, the Terms control.
Scope and purpose
In short: We use public data on the terms its publishers set, we credit every source, and we give providers and individuals a direct route to reach us.
This policy applies to civicforecast.com and the Civic Forecast application, both operated by Show Me Television, LLC ("Civic Forecast," "we," "us," or "our"). It describes our sourcing, attribution, and access practices for third-party data.
This policy is a statement of our operating practice. It is not legal advice, and it does not grant any third party rights beyond those already provided by law, by an applicable license, or by a written agreement with us. Nothing here waives, limits, or enlarges the rights of any data publisher. Where a provider's license or terms of service impose obligations stricter than those described below, the provider's terms govern our use of that provider's material.
Categories of source material
Every source we ingest is assigned to one of the categories below, and the category determines what we may publish. Format and accessibility do not determine reuse rights: that a dataset is downloadable, or reachable through an open endpoint, does not by itself place it in the public domain.
| Source category | Representative examples | Governing terms |
|---|---|---|
| Works of the U.S. federal government | Campaign-finance filings, federal statistical releases, the Federal Register, federal spending records, legislative records, federal court opinions | 17 U.S.C. § 105 |
| Openly licensed datasets | Research indices and comparative datasets released under a public license | Dataset license |
| Public APIs operated by public bodies and nonprofits | Legislative, judicial, and civic-data endpoints issued under an API key or published usage policy | Provider terms of service |
| State, local, tribal, and foreign government data | State open-data portals and agency feeds | Portal terms |
| Partner-supplied and licensed content | Research partners, data partners, and publishers under written agreement | Written agreement |
How each category is handled
- Federal works. Works prepared by officers or employees of the U.S. federal government within the scope of their employment are not subject to domestic copyright protection under 17 U.S.C. § 105. We reproduce and adapt those works with attribution. We do not extend that assumption to contractor-produced works, to state, local, tribal, or foreign government works, or to third-party material incorporated into a federal publication, each of which we treat as license-governed or terms-governed.
- Openly licensed datasets. Used within the terms of the specific license attached to that dataset, including any attribution, share-alike, or non-commercial condition. Where a license requires adaptations to carry the same license, we apply that license to the adapted material and say so on the page where it appears.
- Terms-governed APIs. Accessed under the provider's published terms of service, rate limits, and API key conditions. Contractual terms apply to our use regardless of whether the underlying records are themselves protected by copyright.
- Partner and licensed content. Used only within the scope, term, territory, and attribution requirements of the signed agreement, and withdrawn when that agreement ends.
Attribution and provenance
Each dataset is attributed to its originating agency or provider, with a link to the source and, where the source supplies one, the dataset, docket, or filing identifier that allows a reader to retrieve the underlying record directly.
Where a source provides retrieval timestamps, version numbers, revision notices, or methodology metadata, we preserve it so readers can assess freshness and provenance. Where a license requires that we reproduce a copyright notice, license name, or disclaimer, we reproduce it with the material rather than only in this policy.
We distinguish structured records from narrative interpretation throughout the product, so a reader can always tell which parts of a page are a source's data and which are our analysis.
No affiliation or endorsement
Naming a source identifies where information came from. It does not indicate any relationship with that source. Civic Forecast is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or acting on behalf of any government agency, court, data provider, or research organization named on our surfaces, unless we state a partnership explicitly on the page in question.
Agency names, seals, logos, and the trademarks and service marks of third parties remain the property of their respective owners. We use them only to identify the source of the material shown, and not in a manner intended to suggest sponsorship or approval.
How we access APIs and open data
In short: We stay inside published limits, identify ourselves, cache to reduce load on the source, and never work around a technical restriction.
- We operate within each provider's published rate limits, quotas, and terms of service, and we register for API keys where a provider requires registration.
- Our automated requests identify themselves with a descriptive user agent and a contact address, so a provider that has a concern can reach us before taking any other step.
- We honor robots.txt and documented crawl directives on the sites we retrieve from.
- We do not circumvent authentication, paywalls, rate limits, access controls, or technical protection measures, and we do not use credentials other than those issued to us.
- We cache retrieved data to reduce repeat load on the source and revalidate on a cadence consistent with how often the source publishes.
- We do not mirror a provider's database in a form that functions as a substitute for the provider's own service, and we do not redistribute bulk datasets where the provider's terms prohibit it.
What we publish, and what we do not
We publish selections, extracts, summaries, visualizations, and original analysis drawn from the sources above, in the amount needed to make the civic point at hand, with a link to the full record at its source. Our aim is to send readers to the underlying record, not to stand in for it.
We do not publish complete copies of licensed datasets, and we do not offer our copy of a third-party dataset as an alternative means of obtaining that dataset. Requests for bulk access to material we did not originate are directed to the originating provider.
Civic Forecast's own material
The underlying public records are not ours and we claim no ownership of them. Our original writing, explainers, visual design, software, and the selection, coordination, and arrangement of the material we compile are the property of Show Me Television, LLC and are protected under applicable law.
You may quote reasonable excerpts of our original material for reporting, commentary, teaching, scholarship, and research, with attribution to Civic Forecast and a link to the page quoted. Systematic scraping, bulk extraction, framing, or reproduction of substantial portions of the site requires our written permission. For syndication, API access, or research use beyond that, contact partnerships@civicforecast.com.
Accuracy, currency, and no warranty
In short: We are not the system of record. Sources revise their own data, and our copy reflects what a source published at the moment we retrieved it.
Public data is supplied to us by third parties and is presented as we received it. Agencies and providers amend, restate, supersede, and withdraw records, sometimes without notice, and a timestamp on our surfaces reflects our retrieval time rather than a guarantee of current accuracy at the source.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, third-party data is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including any implied warranty of accuracy, completeness, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. Our Terms and Conditions govern liability arising from your use of the Service, including the limitation of liability and the governing-law provisions set out there.
Not official guidance
Civic Forecast is a civic education and information service. Nothing on our surfaces is legal, financial, tax, or professional advice, and nothing on our surfaces is an official communication of any government body.
For anything with a deadline or a legal consequence (voter registration, ballot status, filing requirements, or eligibility), verify with your state or local election official or with the responsible agency before you act. Where we present forecasts, indices, scores, or probabilistic estimates, those are analytical estimates and not statements of fact about what will happen.
Personal information in public records
Public records lawfully published by government bodies sometimes contain personal information about identifiable people, including candidates, filers, lobbyists, officials, and contributors. We display that information only where it is already part of the public record and relevant to the civic question at hand.
We do not attempt to re-identify individuals from de-identified data, and we do not assemble records into profiles for advertising, scoring, or targeting. If you believe a record about you is displayed inaccurately or should not appear, contact us using the process below. We can change how a record is presented on our surfaces, but we cannot amend the government record itself; corrections to the underlying record must be sought from the agency that published it. Our Privacy Policy describes how we handle personal information generally.
Corrections, removal, and copyright claims
Write to contact@civicforecast.com. We aim to acknowledge every request within five business days, and we will tell you what we have done or why we have not acted.
Data providers
A provider may ask us to change how its source is attributed, to adjust our caching or request behavior, to correct a description of its methodology, or to stop using a feed entirely. Include the feed or dataset, the pages affected, and the change you are asking for. We will honor a provider's request to discontinue use of its data.
Accuracy corrections
Include the page URL, the record or dataset identifier, what is incorrect, and the correct information or the source that shows it. Confirmed errors are fixed and, where the error was material, noted.
Copyright claims
Send copyright claims to contact@civicforecast.com with the subject line "Copyright claim." So that we can act quickly, include the elements described in 17 U.S.C. § 512(c)(3):
- A physical or electronic signature of the owner, or of a person authorized to act on the owner's behalf.
- Identification of the copyrighted work you claim has been infringed.
- Identification of the material you claim is infringing, with information reasonably sufficient for us to locate it, such as the page URL.
- Your contact information, including a mailing address, telephone number, and email address.
- A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
- A statement that the information in the notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner.
We may remove or disable access to material in response to a valid notice, and we may notify the person or partner who supplied that material so they can respond. Knowingly making a material misrepresentation in a notice may expose the sender to liability under 17 U.S.C. § 512(f).
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as our sources, licenses, and partnerships change. Material changes are reflected in the "last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the Service after a change takes effect indicates acceptance of the updated policy.
Contact
Civic Forecast is operated by Show Me Television, LLC. General, correction, and removal requests: contact@civicforecast.com. Data partnerships, licensing, and syndication: partnerships@civicforecast.com.