VRscores Data — Noncommercial License & Terms of Use (Media/Academic)

By downloading, copying, modifying, or otherwise using the Data, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use or retain the Data and must immediately delete all copies.

The primary goal of these Terms is to allow Journalistic Use and Academic Use of the Data while strictly prohibiting all Commercial Use, all Political Activity, and all Governmental or Quasi-Governmental Use.

Academic Use

Use by accredited educational or research institutions (or their personnel, students, or authorized non-commercial collaborators) solely for teaching, academic research, or public-interest analysis, provided that the Data is not sold or used to build a Paid Product or Service.

Commercial Use

Any use that seeks or results in revenue, fees, equity, or other commercial advantage. Examples include, but are not limited to, ads, subscriptions, licensing, paywalls, consulting, or paid product features.

Contractor

Includes subcontractors, consultants, and vendors acting for or on behalf of Governmental or Quasi-governmental entities.

Data

The VRscores dataset and all associated files, documentation, and updates provided by the Authors.

Derived Output

Tables, figures, statistics, models, visualizations, or narrative built from the Data, provided that the output cannot be reverse-engineered to substantially recreate the Data or re-identify individuals.

Journalistic Use

Reporting, analysis, criticism, or commentary in news or public-interest media, whether for-profit or non-profit (including ad-supported outlets and subscription news), so long as the Data itself is not sold, licensed, or packaged as a data product or feed.

Paid Product or Service

Any product, service, feature, or platform that is offered for a fee, license, subscription, or other commercial consideration.

Political Activity

Any action or research intended to influence, support, or oppose the election, appointment, or retention of a government official; or to influence the passage, defeat, or implementation of any law, regulation, referendum, or public policy decision.

Quasi-governmental

An entity that performs public functions, or is funded, directed, or materially controlled by a government.

Subject to your full compliance with these Terms, the Authors grant you a non-exclusive, revocable, non-transferable, worldwide license to use the Data solely for:

• Journalistic Use, and
• Academic Use.

All rights not expressly granted herein are reserved by the Authors.

• Analyze the Data for the purpose of creating stories, articles, broadcasts, posts, or academic research papers.
• Publish Derived Outputs (including charts, maps, and summary statistics) based on the Data.
• Share minimal, necessary excerpts of the Data to clearly explain your methods or findings, provided such excerpts do not enable the reconstruction of the full Data or the re-identification of people.
• Share code, documentation, and models used with the Data for transparency in research or reporting.

• Commercialization: You may not sell, sublicense, rent, lease, trade, or otherwise monetize the Data. You may not use the Data to build, operate, or enhance any Paid Product or Service, including analytics dashboards, data feeds, APIs, commercial training data, or subscription databases. You may not train, fine-tune, or evaluate models for a Paid Product or Service using the Data.
• Governmental or Quasi-Governmental Use (Total Prohibition): Without the Authors’ prior written consent, the Data may not be used by, for, or on behalf of any governmental or quasi-governmental entity, agency, department, or organization (at the federal, state, local, or international level). This includes all Contractors of such entities.
• Political Activity (Total Prohibition): You may not use the Data, or assist others in using the Data, for any Political Activity, including, but not limited to, campaigning, political consulting, voter targeting, lobbying, or political research.
• Redistribution: You may not repost, mirror, or redistribute the Data, in whole or in substantial part, outside your organization without prior written consent from the Authors.
• Re-identification and Dossiers: You may not attempt to re-identify individuals, infer sensitive attributes, or link the Data with other data to create personal profiles or dossiers.
• Discriminatory/Unlawful Use: Any use that would violate anti-discrimination, civil-rights, or similar applicable laws is prohibited.
• Security: You must implement and maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to prevent unauthorized access, scraping, mass extraction, or distribution of the Data.

Journalism Carve-Out: Use of the Data within news stories, broadcasts, and visualizations is permitted even by for-profit or ad-supported outlets, provided the outlet does not sell, license, or offer the Data itself (or a database substantially derived from it) as a distinct commercial product or service.

Academic Carve-Out: Academic Use may include noncommercial research collaborations with outside partners, provided the Data remains non-commercial. If the results of a collaboration could reasonably enable a Paid Product or Service, you must obtain prior written consent from the Authors.

When sharing, publishing, or presenting any results, analysis, or Derived Output based on the Data, you must provide the following citation:

Kagan, Max; Frake, Justin; Hurst, Reuben (2025). "VRscores: A New Measure and Dataset of Workforce Politics Using Voter Registrations." SSRN Working Paper No. 5104795. https://ssrn.com/abstract=5104795 https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5104795

If you believe you are legally compelled (by subpoena, court order, etc.) to disclose or use the Data in a manner restricted by these Terms, you must provide prompt written notice to the Authors prior to disclosure (unless the law strictly forbids notice). If prior notice is barred, you must notify the Authors as soon as the bar lifts. You must disclose only the minimum amount of Data legally required.

The Authors may revoke the license immediately, deny access, and/or request the deletion of the Data if these Terms are breached. Upon receiving notice of revocation or breach, you must immediately cease all use of the Data and certify the destruction or deletion of all copies within ten (10) days.

No Warranty: The Data is provided "AS IS," and the Authors expressly disclaim all warranties, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. The Data may contain errors. You use the Data at your own risk. The Authors do not endorse any decisions made with the Data.

Limitation of Liability: To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Authors will not be liable for any lost profits, revenues, or indirect, special, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages arising from or related to your use of the Data. In no event shall the Authors' aggregate liability exceed One Hundred U.S. Dollars (USD $100.00).

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Authors from and against any and all claims, damages, liabilities, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from your access to or use of the Data in violation of these Terms or applicable law.

Governing Law: These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Michigan, without regard to its conflict of laws principles.

Changes: The Authors may update these Terms for legal or operational reasons. Material changes will be posted with a new Effective Date. Your continued use of the Data after the new Effective Date means you accept the revised Terms.

Survival: Sections 8 through 14 survive the termination of these Terms.

Severability: If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

Contact admin@politicsatwork.org to request consent for uses restricted by these Terms (e.g., potential commercial, governmental, or political use) or to discuss a specialized license.