GOTV Awards Official Rules

Effective date: | Award cycle: 2026 GOTV Awards

HOW WINNERS ARE DECIDED – PLEASE READ: The 2026 GOTV Awards are decided by payment-weighted voting. Each eligible member or firm receives one (1) vote per U.S. dollar it paid to the Association in calendar year 2026, in each award category. Payments therefore increase voting power. Results reflect votes cast under these Rules. They are not a merit judgment by USEIA or any judging panel, and they are not an endorsement. The Awards are recognition only. No cash prize or prize of monetary value is awarded.

6.1 Administrator

The GOTV Awards (the "Awards") are administered by U.S. Election Industry Association, a Wyoming nonprofit corporation (also known as "The United States Election Industry Association") ("USEIA"). USEIA's federal tax-exempt status has not been determined.

6.2 Purpose and nature of the Awards

The Awards recognize get-out-the-vote (GOTV), voter-engagement, and election-industry work. Winners receive recognition only, such as the right to use the title described in Section 6.10, a certificate, trophy, or digital badge of nominal value, and announcement by USEIA. No cash, gift card, or other prize of monetary value is awarded. Winning is determined only by vote totals under Section 6.7, not by chance. No part of the Awards involves a random drawing, wager, or bet.

6.3 2026 schedule

All deadlines are 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on the date shown.

USEIA may adjust dates under Section 6.13. Any change will be posted on the Site.

6.4 Eligibility

• Nominators must be at least 18 years old. Nominating is free. No payment is required to submit a nomination or to be nominated.
• Nominees may be individuals, firms, organizations, or campaigns/programs whose GOTV or election-industry work occurred during the 2026 election cycle. Self-nominations are permitted.
• Voters. Voting is available to each member (individual or firm) and any other person or organization that made Eligible Payments (Section 6.7) to the Association in calendar year 2026 and completes voter verification (Section 6.8). A firm votes as a single voter through its designated administrator or designated voting representative, regardless of how many individuals its membership covers.
• Not eligible to win: USEIA directors, officers, and employees, and members of their immediate families and households; and any nominee disqualified under Sections 6.5, 6.9, or 6.11.
• Nominations recognize professional work, not candidates. A nomination of a campaign or program recognizes the GOTV or election-industry work, not the candidate, party, or position.

6.5 Nominations (through November 13, 2026)

Submit the nomination form at ElectionIndustry.com/nominate by the deadline. Nominations must include the information the form requires, including category, nominee name and organization, description of work, supporting materials, and nominator contact information. By submitting, the nominator represents that the information is accurate and that they have the right to submit all materials included. Incomplete, late, false, or ineligible nominations may be disqualified.

License to nominee submissions. By submitting a nomination or nominee materials, the submitter (and, by accepting the nomination, the nominee) grants USEIA a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license to use, reproduce, edit for length and clarity, display, publish, and distribute the nomination materials. This includes names, organization names, logos, likeness and photos, Q&A responses, and descriptions of work, on the Site, in social media, newsletters, press releases, event materials, and other promotion of the Awards and USEIA, in any media, without further compensation, except where prohibited by law. Nominees may withdraw before voting opens by emailing Winning@ElectionIndustry.com. Materials already published, and on-chain vote records, may not be fully removable.

6.6 Diligence / context review (through November 20, 2026) and industry Q&A (through November 27, 2026)

• Diligence / context review. USEIA reviews nominations for eligibility, completeness, and accuracy, and for any information suggesting that the nominee's work involved fraud, deception, or a violation of election law. USEIA may ask nominees or nominators for more information, may add brief factual context to a nomination's public listing, may combine duplicate nominations, and may disqualify nominations that do not meet these Rules. Diligence decisions are about eligibility and accuracy, not about which nominee should win.
• Industry Q&A. Nominees advancing past review may be invited to answer questions from industry participants and/or USEIA through a written Q&A on the Site or a live virtual session. Participation is optional. Q&A content is covered by the license in Section 6.5 and must follow the Acceptable Use Policy. USEIA may moderate or remove questions and answers that violate that policy.

6.7 How votes are allocated (1 vote per $1 paid in 2026)

• Formula. Each eligible voter receives, in each award category, one (1) vote for each whole U.S. dollar of Eligible Payments it made to the Association during calendar year 2026, as of the voting deadline. (Example: an Individual member who paid $75 in dues has 75 votes in each category. A firm that paid $2,500 in dues and $30 in other Eligible Payments has 2,500 + 30 votes in each category.) Amounts are rounded down to the nearest whole dollar.
• Eligible Payments means amounts actually received and retained by the Association in calendar year 2026 (from January 1, 2026 through the voting deadline on November 30, 2026) for: (a) membership dues; (b) purchases from the Association, such as event tickets, sponsorships, advertising, merchandise – confirm which count; and (c) other voluntary payments to the Association. Eligible Payments exclude taxes and processing fees charged to the payer, amounts refunded, reversed, charged back, or still in dispute, and payments that fail or are not completed by the voting deadline.
• These are not political or charitable contributions. Eligible Payments are payments to a trade association for membership, goods, services, or the Association's general purposes. They are not contributions to any candidate, political party, political committee, or campaign, and they are not used to make such contributions. They are not charitable contributions and are not deductible as charitable contributions. USEIA's tax-exempt status has not been determined. See Political & Non-Partisan Disclaimer.
• Votes belong to the payer. Votes are credited to the member or firm that made the payment (the Stripe customer or invoiced party of record). Votes may not be sold, transferred, pooled, or assigned. A firm's payments and the payments of individuals covered by its firm membership are aggregated to the firm / counted separately.
• Using votes. In each category, a voter may split its votes among nominees in whole-vote increments. Votes not cast by the deadline expire. Voters may vote for themselves or for their own firm. Votes in one category do not reduce votes available in another category.
• No separate purchase of votes. USEIA does not sell votes as a separate product. Votes are a byproduct of Eligible Payments.

6.8 How dollar-to-vote amounts are verified

• Source of truth. Vote allocations are calculated from USEIA's payment records, primarily Stripe transaction records, reconciled to amounts actually received.
• Allocation snapshot. Before voting opens, each verified voter is shown its vote allocation per category, based on Eligible Payments to date. Allocations are updated for new Eligible Payments received through the voting deadline and recalculated after the deadline to remove any refunded, reversed, or charged-back amounts.
• Voter verification. To receive a voting credential, a voter must verify control of the email address on file for the paying account and, for firms, confirm the designated administrator. Each paying account receives one voting credential.
• Recording. Votes are recorded on a public or permissioned blockchain using a pseudonymous voter identifier. The record shows the identifier, the category, the nominee, and the number of votes, but not names, email addresses, or payment details. This creates a tamper-resistant, auditable tally. On-chain records are permanent and cannot be deleted (see Privacy Policy, Section 3.5).
• Audit and disputes. A voter may ask to have its allocation reviewed by emailing Winning@ElectionIndustry.com before the voting deadline. After the deadline, USEIA will reconcile on-chain vote totals against payment records and may engage an independent reviewer – optional. Results will be published with total votes per nominee and an aggregate reconciliation statement.

6.9 Integrity, fraud, and Sybil safeguards

The following are prohibited and may result in invalidation of votes, disqualification of a nominee or voter, and termination of membership:

• creating multiple or fake accounts, identities, or payer records, or using another person's account or credential;
• using stolen or unauthorized payment methods, or making payments intended to be refunded or charged back after voting;
• "straw" or pass-through payments, meaning payments made in another person's name, or funded or reimbursed by another person, to give that person votes or to evade these Rules;
• buying, selling, trading, or pooling votes or voting credentials, or offering anything of value in exchange for votes;
• bots, scripts, or automated voting, or attempts to interfere with the voting system or blockchain record; and
• payments from sources prohibited by law, or payments USEIA declines to accept under its policies.

Safeguards include tying votes to verified paying accounts, one credential per account, reconciliation of votes to payments actually received and retained, removal of votes tied to refunded or charged-back payments, monitoring for unusual payment or voting patterns, and USEIA's right to request information about the source of a payment. USEIA's determinations under this Section, made reasonably and in good faith, are final.

6.10 Results, ties, and winners

• Winner. In each category, the eligible nominee with the most valid votes at the close of voting, after verification and reconciliation, wins.
• Ties. If two or more nominees tie, the tie will be resolved by. Ties will not be resolved by random drawing.
• Announcement. Winners will be notified by email and announced after verification and reconciliation. Every public announcement of results will state that the Awards are decided by payment-weighted voting.
• Use of title. Winners may use the designation "2026 GOTV Awards Winner – (category name), The United States Election Industry Association (decided by member vote)" accurately and under any brand guidelines we provide. They may not imply that USEIA endorses any candidate, party, ballot measure, product, or service, or that the award reflects a merit judgment by USEIA.
• If a winner declines the Award or cannot be reached within 30 days, USEIA may award it to the next-ranked eligible nominee or not award it.

6.11 Revocation

USEIA may revoke an Award, before or after announcement, if it learns that the nomination contained material false information, that votes for the winner resulted from conduct prohibited by Section 6.9, or that the winner's recognized work involved fraud or a violation of election law.

6.12 No endorsement – non-partisan

The Awards do not endorse, support, or oppose any candidate, political party, political committee, or ballot measure. Recognition of a campaign, program, firm, or individual reflects only vote totals under these Rules. Nominees and winners may come from across the political spectrum. See Political & Non-Partisan Disclaimer.

6.13 Right to modify, suspend, or withdraw

USEIA may modify these Rules, change dates or categories, or suspend, cancel, or withdraw the Awards (or any category) if fraud, technical failures (including blockchain or payment-system failures), legal concerns, insufficient nominations, or other circumstances beyond our reasonable control impair the integrity or proper administration of the Awards. Changes will be posted on the Site. If the Awards are cancelled, Eligible Payments are not refunded, because they were made for membership, goods, services, or general purposes and not for votes.

6.14 Release and limitation of liability

To the extent permitted by law, by participating, nominators, nominees, and voters release USEIA and its directors, officers, employees, volunteers, and service providers from claims arising from participation in the Awards or the use of nomination materials as permitted by these Rules, except for claims arising from our gross negligence or willful misconduct. USEIA is not responsible for lost, late, or misdirected submissions, technical malfunctions, network, payment, or blockchain disruptions, or errors in administering the Awards. Disclaimer & Limitation of Liability applies.

6.15 Privacy

Personal information collected for the Awards, including payment records used to calculate votes, is handled under our Privacy Policy.

6.16 Governing law; disputes; void where prohibited

These Rules are governed by the laws of the State of Wyoming, consistent with USEIA's organization as a Wyoming nonprofit corporation. Disputes are resolved by binding individual arbitration with a class-action waiver as described in the Terms of Use, Section 1.15, and otherwise in the courts of Los Angeles County, California (Section 1.14). The Awards are void where prohibited or restricted by law.

6.17 Questions

Winning@ElectionIndustry.com.