Share firsthand. Respect other people.

Pollside is for local election experiences, not campaigning, harassment or allegations presented as proven facts. Human moderators review submissions before publication.

• Describe what you personally experienced. Separate observation from interpretation; do not invent a place, time, source or event.
• Do not publish private addresses, voter identifiers, ballot choices, identity documents, identifiable children or other sensitive personal information. Avoid recognizable bystanders in media unless you have an appropriate basis to share it.
• No threats, hate, targeted harassment, sexual content, graphic violence, impersonation, spam or manipulation. Submit only media you have the right to share.
• Do not interfere with voting, reveal a completed ballot, film where prohibited, or claim that Pollside has verified wrongdoing or how somebody voted.
• Official references and Community Reports are distinct. A participation badge is not proof that a ballot was cast. A provenance signal is not an authenticity verdict.

Initial-release editorial scope

For the initial release, Pollside does not publish gratuitous profanity, harassment, sensational or graphic fear-inducing content, sexually suggestive or explicit content or nudity, or graphic violence. Human-reviewed factual civic reporting may refer to substances, weapons, threats, public-safety incidents or other sensitive subjects when relevant and proportionate. Pollside does not publish content that promotes weapons, substance use or violence. Reporting on a threat is distinct from making or endorsing one. Submissions that cannot be responsibly presented with the current controls remain private or are rejected.

Future visual reporting requires separate editorial safeguards, rights review, appropriate content warnings and age-rating reassessment before activation.

Human moderation

Pollside is operated by Lakshmi Umesh as an individual. Human moderation is staffed daily from 7 AM to 10 PM Pacific Time, following America/Los_Angeles local time and daylight-saving changes. Items received outside these hours remain private until the next staffed review period. Review is not immediate or guaranteed within a fixed time. If coverage is interrupted or the queue exceeds available capacity, moderators can pause new submissions while withdrawal, account deletion and support remain available.

Report, block and correction

Use Report on a published post or contributor to send a private note to Pollside moderators. Block hides that contributor’s reports for your signed-in view; Settings lets you unblock. Moderators can reject or remove content, publish reviewed corrections, and pause new intake. A report’s resolution is a moderation action, not a legal finding.

If there is an immediate danger, contact the appropriate emergency service. Pollside does not dispatch responders or provide an emergency/crime-reporting service. Verify voting rules with your election authority.

Your content and account

You can withdraw eligible submissions in My submissions and delete your account with a fresh email code. Public access and saved recipient copies are explained in our privacy policy. For concerns you cannot report in the app, contact support.