Core service commitment
Polls & Back coordinates free transportation through approved volunteer drivers so a rider can reach the correct polling place and return home. The service is not conditioned on party registration, candidate preference, ballot position, donation, membership, or political participation beyond the rider’s own decision to vote.
We may help a person reach the ballot. We may not influence what they do with it.
Nonpartisan conduct
No campaigning during service
Drivers, dispatchers, and organizers may not advocate for or against candidates, parties, public measures, or political organizations while carrying out Polls & Back duties.
No ballot questions
Volunteers may not ask how a rider voted, plans to vote, or feels about a candidate or issue. Riders are not required to disclose political information.
No political conditions
A ride may not be offered, prioritized, denied, or changed because of political affiliation, viewpoint, or expected ballot choices.
No campaign use of rider information
Names, contact details, addresses, ride history, and operational notes may not be used for campaign outreach, voter persuasion, fundraising, or political targeting.
Rider dignity and access
Volunteers must communicate respectfully and provide service without political judgment. Mobility and accessibility information is collected only to determine whether an available vehicle and volunteer can safely meet the need.
Final capacity limits and accommodation procedures will be published before requests open. Polls & Back will be direct about what it can and cannot safely provide rather than promising unavailable transportation.
Safety and reliability
- Drivers must operate vehicles lawfully and safely.
- Volunteers must not perform active assignments while impaired.
- Harassment, intimidation, threats, and coercive behavior are prohibited.
- Assignments, delays, cancellations, and incidents must be reported through the designated dispatch process.
- Rider contact details must not be copied or retained for personal use.
Volunteer driver approval
Every volunteer driver is reviewed individually before approval. Polls & Back verifies the applicant’s identity, current driver’s license, vehicle registration, personal automobile insurance, and the safety and suitability of the vehicle that will be used.
Submitting an application does not grant operational access, authorize an applicant to transport riders, or guarantee an assignment. Only approved drivers may receive rider information or accept Polls & Back assignments.
Driver and vehicle requirements
- Drivers must maintain lawful driving privileges and current vehicle registration.
- The vehicle used for service must be safe, reliable, and suitable for the assignments accepted.
- The driver must maintain a current personal automobile policy that includes comprehensive and collision coverage.
- License, registration, insurance, identity, and vehicle safety must be verified during onboarding.
- Drivers must promptly report any change affecting their eligibility, insurance, vehicle safety, or ability to complete an assignment.
Polls & Back verifies required personal automobile coverage but does not issue, replace, or extend the driver’s insurance policy.
Who may participate
Applications are open to individual volunteers and to drivers connected with existing community groups, mutual-aid networks, nonprofit organizations, neighborhood projects, faith communities, and other civic efforts.
Affiliation with another group does not replace individual review. Every driver must independently satisfy the same approval, insurance, vehicle-safety, privacy, dispatch, and nonpartisan conduct requirements.
Coordination and infrastructure
Polls & Back provides volunteer intake, driver review, rider intake, communications, dispatch, assignment tracking, documentation, and operational support. Approved volunteers provide free transportation using their own vehicles.
Polls & Back does not sell rides or operate a paid commercial rideshare marketplace. Its role is to vet volunteers, connect approved drivers with people who need transportation, and provide the infrastructure needed to coordinate each ride safely and accountably.
Operational records and deletion
Driver applications, verification and onboarding records, rider requests, dispatch records, assignment notes, ride-status information, and related identifiable operational data are scheduled for deletion on November 17, 2026.
A narrowly limited record may be isolated and retained temporarily beyond that date only when necessary to investigate an active incident, resolve an active dispute, or satisfy a legal obligation. Once that purpose ends, the retained information will be deleted.
Operational information may not be repurposed for campaigning, voter targeting, advertising, fundraising, profiling, or unrelated outreach.
Public independence
Polls & Back is an RG Herd civic project. It is not affiliated with a political party, candidate, campaign, political action committee, or government election office. Links to official Iowa election resources are provided for voter information; they do not imply government sponsorship or endorsement of Polls & Back.
Enforcement
Volunteers who violate the nonpartisan, privacy, safety, or rider-care rules may be removed from active assignments or the service. Dispatch may cancel or reassign a ride when necessary to protect riders, volunteers, or operational integrity.
Final incident-reporting and appeal procedures will be published before active operations.