Terms and Conditions

1. About SmartBallot

SmartBallot is a technology platform that provides digital infrastructure for institutional elections, community organization, SuperGroups, communications, civic-engagement tools, election-monitoring support and related services. SmartBallot’s digital election functionality may be used by tertiary institutions, student organizations and other eligible private or institutional organizations to conduct their own internal elections. SmartBallot also provides infrastructure through which independent groups, organizations, communities and movements may establish and operate SuperGroups and use communications, organization, engagement and related Platform features. SmartBallot is not a governmental election management body and does not conduct Nigerian governmental elections or exercise powers reserved by law to governmental election authorities.

2. Eligibility and Authority

You may use the Platform only if you have legal capacity to enter into these Terms and meet any minimum-age or eligibility requirements applicable to the particular service you use.

Certain Platform functions may have additional eligibility requirements. For example, participation in an institutional election may be restricted to eligible members of that institution, while an organization may establish legitimate criteria for joining a particular SuperGroup. If you create, administer or use SmartBallot on behalf of an institution, organization, association, campaign, movement or other legal or organizational body, you represent that you are authorized to act on its behalf to the extent required for the activity you perform. Creating an ordinary SmartBallot account does not require authority to register persons for any governmental election.

3. User Accounts

You may be required to create an account to access certain Platform functions. You agree to provide information that is reasonably accurate and not knowingly misleading, and you must not impersonate another person or create an account using another person’s identity without authorization. You are responsible for maintaining reasonable security over your account credentials and devices. You must notify SmartBallot promptly if you reasonably believe your account has been compromised or used without authorization. SmartBallot may temporarily restrict an account where reasonably necessary to address suspected account compromise, fraud, security threats or material violations of these Terms.

4. Institutional Election Services

SmartBallot may provide technology enabling eligible tertiary institutions, student bodies and other private or institutional organizations to conduct internal digital elections. Depending on the configuration selected by the organizer, services may include candidate registration, participant eligibility management, digital ballots, authentication, election administration, results calculation, results display, election archives and analytics.

The institution or organization conducting an election is responsible for determining matters within its own authority, including:

• Eligibility Requirements;
• Nomination Procedures;
• Election Dates;
• Candidate Qualifications;
• Election Rules;
• Internal Appeals and Disputes; And
• Compliance With Its Constitution, Bylaws or Governing Documents.

SmartBallot provides the underlying technology and performs only those administrative responsibilities that it expressly agrees to perform. References within SmartBallot’s institutional-election functionality to “votes,” “voters,” “ballots,” “candidates,” “elections” or “results” relate to the relevant institutional or private election unless expressly stated otherwise.

5. Public-Election-Related Services

SmartBallot may provide technology that supports lawful civic engagement, voter education, voluntary voter mobilization, communications, documentation, incident reporting and election-monitoring or observational activities. Such services are informational, organizational or observational in nature and are separate from official governmental election administration.

SmartBallot does not conduct Nigerian governmental elections, register persons with INEC, accredit governmental voters, operate INEC voting systems, conduct official governmental result collation or declare winners of governmental elections. Where SmartBallot displays independently submitted election observations, reports, photographs or monitoring information, such information should not be represented as an official governmental election result unless it has been officially issued or recognized by the legally competent authority.

Where applicable law requires accreditation, appointment or authorization for a particular election-related role, use of SmartBallot alone does not provide that status.

6. SuperGroups

SmartBallot provides infrastructure through which independent organizations and communities may operate SuperGroups. Unless SmartBallot expressly states otherwise, the existence of a SuperGroup on the Platform does not mean that SmartBallot owns, controls, endorses or manages the organization behind that SuperGroup. Joining a SuperGroup is voluntary and may be subject to reasonable membership criteria established by the relevant organization. Membership in one SuperGroup does not automatically enroll a user in another SuperGroup.

SuperGroup Administrators

A SuperGroup may appoint administrators or other authorized persons to manage its activities.

Administrators may receive functionality appropriate to their assigned roles, including membership administration, verification, communications and organizational management.

Administrative access is limited to the permissions provided through the Platform and does not give an administrator ownership of SmartBallot, SmartBallot accounts or SmartBallot’s broader user database. Administrators must use their privileges only for legitimate purposes relating to the group they administer and must not misuse Platform access, confidential information or member information. SmartBallot may restrict or remove administrative privileges where reasonably necessary to protect users, enforce these Terms, address security concerns or comply with law.

Leaving a SuperGroup

Users may leave a SuperGroup using the available Platform functionality. Leaving a SuperGroup does not necessarily delete the user’s overall SmartBallot account. The handling of membership information following withdrawal from a SuperGroup is governed by the SmartBallot Privacy Policy.

7. Communications Features

SmartBallot may provide messaging, group communications, notifications, email, SMS, voice, audio meetings and other communications functionality. Users and organizations are responsible for ensuring that communications they initiate through SmartBallot are lawful. Users must not use SmartBallot communications functionality for unlawful harassment, fraud, impersonation, spam or other prohibited conduct. Where Canadian anti-spam legislation applies to a commercial electronic message, the sender may be required to have the appropriate consent, identify the sender and provide a functioning unsubscribe mechanism. SmartBallot may distinguish between promotional communications and operational communications such as security alerts, transaction notices, OTPs, account notices and other service-related communications.

8. Payments, Donations and Financial Features

SmartBallot may provide technology enabling payments, donations, fundraising, wallet functions, rewards or other financial transactions. Some financial services may be provided through independent payment service providers or financial institutions. SmartBallot does not represent itself as a bank, deposit-taking institution, payment-system regulator or licensed financial institution unless expressly identified as such for a particular regulated service. Organizations using SmartBallot to solicit or receive funds remain responsible for ensuring that their fundraising purposes, solicitations, donor eligibility and use of funds comply with applicable law.

SmartBallot may impose limits, delay or reject transactions, request additional information, restrict financial functionality or cooperate with payment providers where reasonably necessary for fraud prevention, sanctions compliance, anti-money-laundering obligations, regulatory requirements, chargebacks or other legitimate purposes. Any SmartBallot fee applicable to a transaction will be disclosed before the relevant transaction or governed by a separate agreement. Third-party payment-provider charges, foreign-exchange costs, taxes or other charges may also apply.

9. User Content

Users may submit content through SmartBallot, including profiles, photographs, videos, messages, posts, documents, candidate information, reports and other materials. Users retain any ownership rights they lawfully hold in their content. By submitting content to the Platform, you grant SmartBallot a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, process, transmit and display that content solely to the extent reasonably necessary to operate, provide, secure and improve the applicable Platform services. You represent that you have the rights or permissions necessary to submit the content.

SmartBallot may remove, restrict or disable access to content where reasonably necessary to:

• comply with applicable law or a valid legal process;
• protect the rights or safety of users or others;
• address fraud, malware, spam or abuse;
• respond to valid intellectual-property complaints; or
• enforce these Terms.

The presence of user-generated content on SmartBallot does not necessarily constitute endorsement of that content by SmartBallot.

10. Acceptable Use

You must not use SmartBallot to:

• unlawfully access another person’s account or information;
• impersonate another person or organization;
• knowingly provide fraudulent information;
• distribute malware or malicious code;
• circumvent security or access-control measures;
• scrape, harvest or systematically extract data without authorization;
• unlawfully disclose another person’s confidential or personal information;
• send unlawful spam;
• engage in fraud or other unlawful financial activity;
• infringe another person’s intellectual-property rights;
• unlawfully threaten, harass or abuse another person;
• manipulate or obtain unauthorized access to an institutional election conducted through SmartBallot;
• falsely represent SmartBallot information as an official governmental election declaration;
• falsely represent SmartBallot as a governmental election authority; or
• otherwise use the Platform for activity prohibited by applicable law.

SmartBallot may take proportionate enforcement action, including restricting functionality or suspending accounts, where it reasonably determines that these Terms have been materially violated.

11. Independent Organizations and User Responsibility

Organizations, institutions and SuperGroup operators using SmartBallot remain responsible for decisions and activities that they independently control.

SmartBallot is not automatically responsible for:

• membership decisions made independently by a SuperGroup;
• statements made by an organization or its administrators;
• internal institutional election rules;
• candidate statements or manifestos;
• independent fundraising decisions;
• political or organizational views expressed by users; or
• conduct by users occurring outside SmartBallot’s authorization or control.

Nothing in this section limits responsibility that applicable law places directly on SmartBallot.

12. Third-Party Services

SmartBallot may integrate with or rely upon third-party providers for services such as cloud infrastructure, telecommunications, SMS, email, voice services, payments, notifications, analytics and technical infrastructure. Some third parties may independently provide services directly to users under their own terms.

SmartBallot is not responsible for independent third-party activities genuinely outside its reasonable control, except to the extent applicable law provides otherwise.

Where a provider performs services on SmartBallot’s behalf, SmartBallot will maintain the responsibilities imposed upon SmartBallot by applicable law and its agreements.

13. Intellectual Property

Except for user-generated content and third-party materials, the Platform, including its software, code, interfaces, designs, graphics, logos, trademarks and proprietary technology, is owned by or licensed to SmartBallot or its applicable corporate owner. SmartBallot grants users a limited, revocable, non-exclusive and non-transferable right to access and use the Platform for its intended purposes in accordance with these Terms.

Unless permitted by applicable law or authorized in writing, you may not:

• reproduce or commercially exploit SmartBallot software or proprietary materials;
• create unauthorized derivative versions of the Platform;
• circumvent access or security controls;
• falsely represent ownership of SmartBallot technology; or
• use SmartBallot branding in a manner likely to create false affiliation or endorsement.

Nothing in these Terms prohibits activity that applicable law expressly permits notwithstanding contractual restrictions.

14. Privacy and Data Protection

SmartBallot’s processing of personal information is governed by the SmartBallot Privacy Policy, which should be read together with these Terms. The Privacy Policy explains how personal information is collected, used, disclosed, retained, protected and transferred and how applicable privacy rights may be exercised. Acceptance of these Terms does not constitute unlimited or blanket consent to personal-information processing. Nigeria’s current statutory framework is the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.  Canadian private-sector processing may be subject to PIPEDA and its principles of accountability, purpose identification, consent, collection limitation, use/disclosure/retention limitation, safeguards and individual access. 

15. Platform Availability and Changes

SmartBallot may modify, improve, add or discontinue functionality from time to time.

SmartBallot will use reasonable efforts to maintain the availability and integrity of the Platform but does not guarantee continuous or uninterrupted access. Availability may be affected by maintenance, telecommunications failures, internet connectivity, third-party infrastructure, cybersecurity incidents, force majeure events or circumstances outside SmartBallot’s reasonable control. Where a paid service is materially modified or discontinued, SmartBallot will comply with applicable contractual and statutory obligations.

16. Disclaimers

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Platform is provided on an “as available” basis.

SmartBallot does not guarantee that the Platform will be uninterrupted or entirely error-free.

Nothing in these Terms excludes warranties, consumer protections or statutory remedies that cannot lawfully be excluded. For institutional elections, SmartBallot provides technology but does not guarantee that every decision made independently by the institution, organizer, candidate or participant will be accurate, lawful or consistent with the institution’s governing documents. For SuperGroups, SmartBallot does not endorse every organization, administrator, statement, communication or activity merely because it occurs through the Platform. For public-election-related features, independently reported monitoring or observational information may be incomplete, delayed, disputed or subsequently corrected and must not be represented as an official governmental declaration unless officially recognized as such.

17. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, SmartBallot and its applicable affiliates, directors, officers, employees and contractors will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages arising from use of or inability to use the Platform where such liability may lawfully be excluded.

SmartBallot is not responsible for loss caused solely by:

• a user’s unauthorized disclosure of their credentials;
• independent conduct of another user;
• actions of an organization or administrator outside SmartBallot’s authority or control;
• user-generated content;
• an independent third-party service failure outside SmartBallot’s reasonable control; or
• institutional governance decisions not made by SmartBallot.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where applicable law prohibits exclusion or limitation. This includes statutory rights and remedies that cannot validly be waived by contract. For commercial or institutional customers, additional limitations of liability may be established through a separately negotiated written agreement.

18. Indemnification by Organizations and Business Users

To the extent permitted by applicable law, institutions, organizations, SuperGroup operators, administrators acting in a commercial or organizational capacity, and other business users agree to indemnify SmartBallot against third-party claims, losses or reasonable costs arising directly from their:

• Unlawful Use of the Platform;
• Material Breach of These Terms;
• Infringement Of Another Person’s Rights;
• Unlawful Fundraising;
• Unauthorized Disclosure or Misuse of Information;
• Content Submitted Without Necessary Rights; Or
• Conduct That They Independently Control.

This provision does not impose an indemnification obligation on an individual consumer where such obligation would be prohibited or unenforceable under applicable law.

19. Suspension and Termination

SmartBallot may suspend, restrict or terminate access where reasonably necessary because:

• These Terms Have Been Materially Violated;
• Fraud Or Serious Misuse Is Reasonably Suspected;
• An Account Creates a Security Threat;
• Continued Access Presents a Material Risk to Users or The Platform;
• Smartballot Is Legally Required to Act; Or
• A Service Is Legitimately Discontinued.

Where practicable and appropriate, SmartBallot may provide notice or an opportunity to remedy a violation before permanent termination. Users may stop using SmartBallot or use available account-deletion functions subject to applicable retention requirements described in the Privacy Policy. Leaving a particular SuperGroup is separate from deleting the SmartBallot account.

20. Compliance With Applicable Law

SmartBallot operates in multiple jurisdictions and will comply with laws that validly apply to its services and activities. Users and organizations are responsible for complying with laws that apply to conduct they independently undertake through the Platform. This does not transfer SmartBallot’s own statutory obligations to users. Availability of SmartBallot in a particular jurisdiction does not necessarily mean every feature is available or legally permitted in that jurisdiction. SmartBallot may restrict a service or feature where reasonably necessary to satisfy legal, regulatory, sanctions, telecommunications, financial-services, privacy or contractual requirements.

21. Consumer Rights

Where a user qualifies as a consumer under applicable law, nothing in these Terms removes rights that applicable consumer legislation makes mandatory. For Ontario transactions, certain online consumer agreements can be subject to statutory disclosure, delivery, cancellation and other requirements.  If a separate paid service creates additional consumer-contract obligations, SmartBallot will provide applicable transaction-specific information at the appropriate point of purchase.

22. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

Except where mandatory law provides otherwise, the law governing these Terms depends upon the SmartBallot entity providing the relevant service. Where the contracting entity is a Canadian SmartBallot entity, these Terms will generally be governed by the laws of Ontario and the applicable federal laws of Canada, without prejudice to mandatory laws that apply to the user. Where a Nigerian SmartBallot entity enters into a separate written commercial or institutional agreement, that agreement may specify Nigerian law and an appropriate Nigerian dispute forum. Nothing in these Terms deprives an individual of mandatory consumer, privacy or other statutory rights that apply regardless of contractual choice of law. Before commencing formal proceedings, SmartBallot and the user should, where reasonable, attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute informally. Any arbitration arrangement applicable to an institutional or commercial customer should be set out in the applicable separately negotiated agreement rather than imposed indiscriminately on all consumer users.

23. Changes to These Terms

SmartBallot may modify these Terms to reflect changes in law, Platform functionality, business operations, security requirements or other legitimate circumstances. The current version will identify its effective or revision date. Where changes materially affect users’ contractual rights or obligations, SmartBallot will provide reasonable notice as required by applicable law. Where applicable law requires affirmative acceptance of revised terms, SmartBallot will request that acceptance.

24. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is determined by a competent authority to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be limited or interpreted to the extent necessary to make it enforceable where legally possible. The remaining provisions will continue in effect.

25. No Waiver

SmartBallot’s failure to immediately enforce a provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that provision or of SmartBallot’s right to enforce it later.

26. Assignment

Users may not transfer their rights or obligations under these Terms to another person without SmartBallot’s consent where consent is reasonably required. SmartBallot may transfer or assign its rights and obligations as part of a legitimate corporate restructuring, merger, acquisition or transfer of the relevant business, subject to applicable law and users’ mandatory rights.

27. Entire Agreement

These Terms, the SmartBallot Privacy Policy and any applicable feature-specific terms constitute the agreement governing an individual user’s use of the Platform. For institutional, commercial or organizational customers, a separately executed agreement may supplement these Terms. Where such a written agreement expressly conflicts with these general Terms, the separately executed agreement will control to the extent of that conflict.

28. Contact Information

Questions about these Terms may be directed to:  

SmartBallot Legal / Support
Email: support@smartballotapp.com

Privacy-related requests should be directed to:

privacy@smartballotapp.com

Canada: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Nigeria: Lagos Nigeria

North York, Toronto Canada

Email: jahswill.ukah@smartballotapp.com  

Website: www.smartballotapp.com | Twitter/Instagram: @smartballotapp