The following Policy governs the social media pages of the Broward County Supervisor of Elections’ Office (the “Office”), including but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. The Office’s use of social media is intended to maintain professional and responsive communications with members of the public concerning elections taking place in Broward County. The purpose of this Policy is to ensure the Office’s social media pages are used for their intended purpose and to provide accurate, non-misleading information to the public. This Policy may be amended or modified by the Office at any time.
The Office’s social media pages are not intended to be public forums for communication, and comments that are inconsistent with this Policy may be removed, hidden, or not published. Permissible user content posted to Supervisor-maintained social media pages/sites is limited to content that directly relates to the purpose or topic of the social media website, page, or post. In addition, the following content is prohibited on the Office’s social media:
- Patently false and misleading information concerning the process of voting, including registration, applicable deadlines, dates of election, and the methods of voting. This prohibition shall not be construed to prohibit complaints concerning the process of voting unless the complaint could reasonably mislead the public as to the voting process.
- Content that violates intellectual property laws (e.g., trademark or copyright).
- Falsely implying or stating that the commentor is associated with, employed by, a volunteer of, or represents a governmental agency or contracts with an entity associated with a governmental agency.
- Commercial advertisements or solicitations.
- Using false information to induce or attempt to induce others to refrain from voting or register to vote.
- Posting personal identifiable information, including but not limited to personal addresses, telephone numbers, and/or social security numbers.
- Material of a sexually prurient nature or otherwise indecent or obscene.
- Comments or content depicting, discussing, soliciting, or assisting with illegal activity.
- Comments promoting or opposing any person campaigning for election to a political office or promoting or opposing any referendum issue.
- Content that explicitly and predominantly demeans, disparages, praises, or promotes individuals or groups of individuals based on race, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, age, or alienage.
- Direct or indirect threats of force, violence, or intimidation appearing to induce or compel any individual or group of individuals to vote or refrain from voting, vote in a particular manner, refrain from registering to vote, or refrain from acting as a legally authorized election official or poll watcher, and any other expressions of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence against a particular individual or group of individuals.
- Linking to outside websites, social media posts, or documents that contain content prohibited by this Policy.
The Office’s social media pages are intended to be used for informational purposes only. If a user wishes to contact the Office of the Broward County Supervisor of Elections or to request voter registration related services, the user should visit the Office’s official website: http://www.browardvotes.gov.
Any content posted is subject to public records retention and disclosure pursuant to applicable Florida law. Opinions expressed by visitors to the Office’s social media pages do not reflect the opinions of the Office, its employees, or the Broward County Supervisor of Elections.