Privacy
This site measures visits so the editor can tell which records and pages people read, how they arrived, and whether the newsletter grows. It sets no advertising cookies and sells nothing to anyone.
What is measured
- Pages and referrers. Vercel Web Analytics and Google Analytics 4 record which pages load, the site or search that sent the visit, the country, and the device type. Vercel Speed Insights records how fast each page loads.
- Reading. How far down a page a visit scrolls, which sections of the election page come into view, how long the page stays open in the foreground, and which outside links are followed.
- Election picks. When a race pick is made on the election page, the race and the pick are counted. Picks carry no name.
- A device identifier. The site computes a one-way hash of browser and device settings (browser version, screen size, time zone, language, graphics hardware and how the browser draws a test image). The hash cannot be reversed into those settings. It lets a returning reader count once instead of as a new visitor each time, and it goes to Google Analytics as an anonymous user ID. It is not linked to a name or an email address in Google Analytics. Google signals and ad personalization are off.
Email signup
An email address entered in a signup form is stored encrypted, with the date, the page it came from, the site that referred the visit and the device identifier above, so the editor can see which pages and sources bring subscribers. The newsletter itself is sent through Substack, and addresses are added to that list. Every email carries an unsubscribe link. To have an address deleted from both places, write to the contact address on the contact page.
Opting out
A browser that blocks trackers (uBlock Origin, Brave, Firefox strict mode, Safari with advanced tracking protection) stops the Google Analytics and Vercel scripts, and the site works the same without them.