An FAQ list can be helpful to have on hand to answer resident questions. This can be posted online and available to staff who may need to answer questions.
Starter list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
- What does Polco do with my personal information (name, email and ZIP code)? Why am I asked for it? Why do I have to create an account?
- Polco uses your ZIP code - and, after continued use, your name - to verify your residency against publicly available voter information in your state. With verified respondents, we can reduce the risk of one person answering many times. By entering your email address, you can create an account and find out when we post a new question on Polco.
- What is Polco? Why isn’t this polling done by the local government?
- Polco is a private company that helps residents give input to their local governments to better inform policy decisions. Using Polco saves the local government money by replacing older, more expensive methods of getting input. It saves staff from having to build and maintain online engagement tools or manage multiple input channels. The app and the website let a broader range of people give public input, and they protect respondents’ privacy. Your personal information is never shared with anyone, not even your local government.
- Why am I receiving weekly emails?
- If we have posted a question on Polco within the past 30 days and you have not answered it, you will receive a weekly email. You can opt out of these emails at any time.
- I no longer want to receive emails. How do I stop them from coming?
- At the bottom of each email is a link to stop receiving messages. Simply click the link and follow the instructions to unsubscribe.
- I’m a registered voter. Why am I not verified?
- Sometimes Polco isn’t able to match personal information against the voter file. This is generally because of a recent change of address (the public file updates quarterly) or spelling inconsistencies (for example, Mike versus Michael). If you think you should be on the voter list and are not matched, contact us at hello@polco.us.
- Why did I receive a question from groups that aren’t my municipal or county government?
- Polco helps build and sustain a healthy dialogue about public policy in our communities. While most questions posted on Polco are from local governments and elected officials, a few other agencies might also use Polco: news organizations, school or special districts, universities and nonprofits. If your city overlaps boundaries with any of these entities, you can choose to subscribe to get their questions too. You will not receive those questions without your consent.