1. About VoteSmart LA
VoteSmart LA is a free, nonpartisan mobile application and website that provides information about Los Angeles City Council members, real-time city service data, election coverage, and voter resources. VoteSmart LA is operated by VoteSmart LA, LLC.
We are not affiliated with the City of Los Angeles, LA City Council, LA County, any government agency, or any political candidate, party, or campaign.
2. Use of the App
You may use VoteSmart LA for personal, non-commercial informational purposes. You agree not to:
- Use the app for any unlawful purpose
- Attempt to reverse engineer, hack, or disrupt the app or its data sources
- Scrape, copy, or redistribute our content or data without permission
- Use the app to harass, defame, or harm any individual or group
- Misrepresent VoteSmart LA data as your own or as official government data
3. Data Accuracy & Disclaimer
VoteSmart LA pulls data from official public sources including LA City Open Data (MyLA311), LAPD Crime Data, and LAHSA. We make reasonable efforts to display this data accurately, but we cannot guarantee that all information is complete, current, or error-free.
Council member grades and rankings represent our methodology and analysis of public data. They are not official government ratings. Performance scores are intended for informational purposes only and should not be the sole basis for any voting decision.
VoteSmart LA is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. We are not responsible for decisions made based on information displayed in the app.
4. Intellectual Property
The VoteSmart LA name, logo, app design, and original content are owned by VoteSmart LA, LLC. Data sourced from government open data portals remains the property of the respective government agencies and is used under their open data licenses.
You may not reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from our original content without written permission.
5. Third-Party Services
The app uses the following third-party services, each subject to their own terms:
- Google AdMob — advertising platform (Google Terms of Service apply)
- LA City Open Data — public data (City of LA Open Data terms apply)
- LAPD Open Data — crime statistics (public domain)
- Leaflet.js / CartoDB — mapping services
- RSS News Feeds — LAist, LA Times, ABC7, KCRW (respective terms apply)
6. Advertising
VoteSmart LA displays ads served by Google AdMob. These ads help us keep the app free. We do not control the content of third-party ads. Google may use device identifiers to serve relevant ads in accordance with their privacy policy. You can opt out of personalized ads in your iOS Settings under Privacy → Tracking.
7. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, VoteSmart LA, LLC shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of the app, including reliance on any data displayed.
Our total liability for any claim arising from these Terms shall not exceed $100.
8. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any disputes shall be resolved in the courts of Los Angeles County, California.
9. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms. We will note the effective date at the top of this page when changes are made.
10. Contact
Questions about these Terms? Contact us at:
legal@votesmartla.com
VoteSmart LA, LLC
Los Angeles, California