These Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research website located at https://apnorc.org and all sub-domains including the URL’s located at https://apnorc.org/download-data/ and https://apnorc.org/projects/ap-votecast-puf/ (collectively the “Site”), including all downloadable datasets, survey data, topline questionnaires, codebooks, documentation, metadata, reports, tables, charts, files, and other content made available through the Site (collectively, the “Materials”).
By accessing, downloading, or using the Site or any Materials, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, you may not access, download, or use the Site or the Materials.
1. Ownership
The Site is jointly owned by The Associated Press (“AP”) and NORC at the University of Chicago (“NORC”) and operated by NORC.
The Site and all Materials, together with all copyrights, database rights, trademarks, trade secrets and other intellectual property rights therein, are owned by AP, NORC, their licensors, or other applicable rights holders.
Except for the limited license expressly granted below, no ownership or other rights are transferred to you.
All rights not expressly granted are reserved.
2. Limited License
Subject to these Terms, AP and NORC grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to download and use the Materials solely for:
- academic research;
- scholarly analysis;
- educational instruction;
- classroom teaching;
- private study; and
- other non-commercial research purposes.
This license is granted solely to the individual downloading the Materials (or, where applicable, the academic institution on whose behalf the individual is acting) and may not be assigned or transferred.
3. Permitted Uses
Subject to these Terms, you may only:
- download the Materials;
- analyze the Materials;
- perform statistical analysis;
- prepare scholarly publications;
- publish original research derived from the Materials;
- create charts, graphs, visualizations and similar analytical works;
- quote limited excerpts from accompanying documentation consistent with fair scholarly practice; and
- cite the Materials in accordance with accepted academic citation standards.
Any publication using the Materials should include an appropriate acknowledgment to the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
4. Prohibited Uses
Unless expressly authorized in advance in a written agreement signed by both AP and NORC, you may not:
A. Commercial Use
Use the Materials, directly or indirectly, for any commercial purpose or commercial advantage, including:
- advertising;
- marketing;
- commercial consulting;
- commercial research performed for paying clients;
- sale of reports;
- subscription services;
- commercial databases;
- commercial analytics;
- software products;
- commercial data products;
- revenue-generating websites or applications; or
- any product or service offered for a fee.
For purposes of these Terms, “commercial purpose” includes any use primarily intended for commercial advantage or monetary compensation, whether direct or indirect.
B. Redistribution
You may not:
- redistribute the downloaded files;
- upload the files to another website;
- post them to GitHub, Kaggle, Zenodo, Dataverse, ICPSR, institutional repositories, cloud storage services, or similar platforms;
- mirror the Site;
- resell the Materials;
- sublicense the Materials;
- distribute copies to third parties; or
- otherwise make the downloadable files publicly or privately available to others.
Persons wishing to obtain the Materials should download them directly from the Site.
C. AI and Machine Learning
You may not use the Materials, or any portion thereof:
- to create, develop, train, pre-train, fine-tune, adapt, validate, benchmark, test, improve, or evaluate any artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, neural network, large language model, foundation model, generative AI system, or similar technology;
- to create embeddings or vector databases for use with AI systems;
- to ground, augment, retrieve, or otherwise support responses generated by AI systems, including retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) or similar techniques;
- to generate synthetic datasets intended for AI development;
- to create models that compete with or substitute for the Materials or services offered by AP or NORC; or
- to permit any third party to engage in any of the foregoing.
D. Competing Databases
You may not create or distribute any database, repository, archive, or collection that reproduces, aggregates, substantially duplicates, or serves as a substitute for the Materials or any substantial portion thereof.
E. Automated Access
You may not use any robot, spider, crawler, scraper, harvesting tool, automated script, or similar technology to:
- systematically download Materials;
- access the Site in bulk;
- extract metadata;
- copy content; or
- interfere with the operation of the Site,
except with AP’s and NORC’s prior written permission.
F. Re-identification
You may not attempt to identify, contact, or re-identify any survey respondent or combine the Materials with any other information for that purpose.
G. Misrepresentation
You may not:
- represent that AP or NORC endorses you or your work;
- use AP’s or NORC’s names, trademarks, logos, or branding except for appropriate factual attribution;
- misrepresent the source of the Materials; or
- use the Materials in a manner that is false, misleading, defamatory, or unlawful.
5. Intellectual Property
Downloading the Materials does not transfer ownership of any intellectual property rights.
No implied licenses are granted.
Except as expressly permitted under these Terms, no right is granted to reproduce, distribute, publicly display, create derivative databases from, license, sell, or otherwise exploit the Materials.
6. Attribution
Users should acknowledge the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in publications using the Materials.
Nothing in these Terms grants permission to use AP’s or NORC’s trademarks except for truthful attribution.
7. Accuracy of Materials
The Materials are provided for research purposes.
Although AP and NORC strive to maintain accurate information, they do not warrant that the Materials are complete, current, uninterrupted, error-free, or suitable for any particular purpose.
8. Disclaimer of Warranties
THE SITE AND MATERIALS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.”
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, AP, NORC, THEIR AFFILIATES, CONTRIBUTORS, LICENSORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, OR THAT THE MATERIALS WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS.
9. Limitation of Liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, AP, NORC, THEIR AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, CONTRIBUTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, OR SIMILAR DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SITE OR THE MATERIALS, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
10. Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless AP, NORC, their affiliates, licensors, officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to:
- your breach of these Terms;
- your misuse of the Site or Materials;
- your violation of applicable law; or
- your infringement of the rights of any third party.
11. Enforcement; Suspension and Termination
AP and NORC reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to suspend, restrict, or terminate your access to the Site or the Materials at any time if they reasonably believe you have violated these Terms.
AP and NORC may also require you to cease using, delete, or destroy downloaded Materials that have been used in violation of these Terms.
Termination shall not affect any rights or remedies accrued prior to termination.
12. Commercial Licensing
Organizations or individuals wishing to use the Materials for commercial purposes must obtain a separate written license from AP and NORC.
Nothing in these Terms obligates AP or NORC to grant any commercial license.
13. Changes to These Terms
AP and NORC may modify these Terms at any time by posting revised Terms on the Site. Your continued access to or use of the Site or any Materials, including Materials previously downloaded from the Site, after revised Terms are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
14. Governing Law
These Terms shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York, without regard to its conflict of laws principles.
Any legal action arising from these Terms shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in New York County, New York, and you consent to the jurisdiction of those courts.
15. Miscellaneous
If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
No waiver of any breach shall constitute a waiver of any subsequent breach.
These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and AP and NORC concerning the Site and the Materials and supersede any prior understandings relating to their subject matter.