Help
Support
We're here to help. Find answers to common questions below or reach out directly.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Civitas?
Civitas is a civic intelligence platform that helps you understand what your representatives are doing in government. Track votes, follow campaign finance, see how your representatives align with your views, and make your voice heard through constituent polls.
Is Civitas free?
Yes. Civitas is free to download and use. We do not serve ads or sell your personal information, and there is no subscription.
How do constituent polls work?
When a bill is scheduled for a vote in Congress, Civitas creates a poll where verified users can express their support or opposition. After your representative votes, we compare their vote to their constituents' preferences and calculate an alignment score.
Why do I need to verify my identity?
Identity verification is designed to stop one ID from verifying more than one account, which helps keep one person from voting many times and skewing the poll data. Persona checks your ID. We keep a coded fingerprint of your document number and date of birth (not the numbers themselves), and we ask Persona to delete your verification data; Persona's own policy governs what it keeps.
Can you see how I voted?
Your votes are stored under a separate voting ID, without your name or email. Today our database also holds a link between your account and that ID, which the app uses to show you your own history; someone with full database access could use it to see how an account voted. See our Privacy Policy.
Is Civitas partisan?
No. Civitas is strictly nonpartisan. We present data from official government sources without editorial commentary. Our alignment scores measure how often a representative votes in line with their constituents — regardless of party.
Where does the data come from?
All data in Civitas comes from official public sources: Congress.gov (bills and votes), the Federal Election Commission (campaign finance), the Senate Office of Public Records (lobbying), USASpending.gov (federal spending), and state election offices.
What happens if I delete my account?
Your profile, sign-in account and voting history are deleted, and your votes stay counted in poll totals. Some information remains, such as a coded fingerprint of your ID; see our Privacy Policy for what remains and for how long.
How do I report a data error?
Email support@civitasapp.io with the specific data point and we'll investigate. Our data comes from government sources and is updated regularly, but errors can occur in the source data or our processing pipeline.