Texas Association of County Election Officials (TACEO) operates the Texas Association of County Election Officials Website (the “Service”). This draft privacy policy details how TACEO collects, uses, and protects personal data obtained from website visitors, county election officials, and members.

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: June 3, 2026

1. INTRODUCTION
The Texas Association of County Election Officials (TACEO) (“us”, “we”, or “our”) operates the txaceo.org website (the “Service”). This page informs you of our policies regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of Personal Information when you use our Service. We will not use or share your information with anyone except as described in this Privacy Policy. We use your Personal Information to provide educational resources, coordinate member communications, and improve the Service. By using the Service, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

2. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT AND HOW IS IT USED?

  • Information You Voluntarily Submit: We may collect personal information from you such as your name, email address, phone number, and county affiliation. For example, you may voluntarily submit information to the website by subscribing to our newsletter, registering for member alerts, or submitting a contact form.

  • Member Account Information: If you access the secure member areas of the portal, we store your username and account credentials. Passwords are securely encrypted and are not visible in our records.

  • Automatically-Collected Information: We automatically collect certain technical information about your device. This includes your IP address, operating system type, browser type, referring website, pages you viewed, and the dates/times of your visits.

  • Cookies: We use cookies (small data files stored on your browser) to remember user preferences, facilitate secure portal logins, and optimize overall site functionality. You can block or delete cookies through your browser settings, though doing so may restrict access to certain portal features.

3. HOW YOUR INFORMATION MAY BE USED

We use the information we collect to fulfill our core mission of supporting county election officials through the following methods:

  • To operate, maintain, and secure the TACEO Website.

  • To create and manage your member profile and customize your portal experience.

  • To send critical communications, administrative updates, and the TACEO Newsletter.

  • To respond directly to your comments, support requests, or general inquiries sent to executivedirector@txaceo.org.

  • To process regional event registrations, track continuing education credits, and verify member credentials.

  • To protect, investigate, and deter unauthorized access or illegal activity.

4. THIRD-PARTY USE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

TACEO does not sell, distribute, or rent your personal information to third-party commercial entities. We only share information with third-party service providers when explicitly authorized or necessary to maintain our platform functions.

Examples of providers utilized may include:

  • Website Analytics Tools: Services like Google Analytics track general website usage and visitor distribution to help us optimize resources.

  • Communication Platforms: E-mail delivery tools utilized to push official member alerts or legislative updates to county offices.

  • Event Management Software: Third-party registration engines used securely to handle annual conference bookings and ticketing.

5. PUBLICLY VISIBLE INFORMATION

If you interact with public forums on the site, post comments, or explicitly opt into a public-facing official directory, certain business information (such as your name, title, and represented Texas county) may be visible to other portal visitors.

6. DATA SECURITY AND BREACH PROCEDURES

The security of your personal data is vital to our organizational integrity. We establish strict procedural safeguards to protect your data from unauthorized access or alteration. In the highly unlikely event that a data breach is detected, TACEO maintains explicit internal guidelines to identify the source and notify all impacted users within 72 hours of verification.

7. RIGHTS RELATED TO YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION

  • Opt-out: You may opt out of future mailing lists or newsletter updates at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in our emails.

  • Access & Correction: You may request a summary of the personal records we hold for you or request corrections to out-of-date records by emailing our staff.

  • Data Erasure: In certain instances, you may request that we erase or "forget" your personal data from active communication rosters. We will fulfill this request promptly, except where data must be retained for legal, financial, or strict regulatory recordkeeping.

8. CONTACT INFORMATION

If you have any questions or require clarification regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us directly:

Texas Association of County Election Officials (TACEO)
5900 Balcones Dr. #20776
Austin, TX 78731
Phone: 737-279-4899
Email: executivedirector@txaceo.org