Interdisciplinary Scientific Research, LLC
Election Forecasting Expert Survey
Official Rules

1. 
ELIGIBILITY: Those who receive an invitation to participate sent by electronic mail are eligible to participate in the survey.  

2.  TO PARTICIPATE. Complete the survey accessible through the link in your email invitation message.  The initial online survey will open on Wednesday, September 3rd and close on Tuesday, September 9th, 2008.   The second brief survey will run for seven days during mid- to late October, 2008.  You may also participate by communicating with Interdisciplinary Scientific Research (hereafter ISR) during these survey periods by fax at 815-301-8854, by email at interscientific@yahoo.com, or by telephone toll-free at 1-866-527-1146.  


ISR is not responsible for incorrect or inaccurate entry of information including, but not limited to, technical malfunctions, human error, lost/delayed data transmission, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, line failures of any telephone network, computer equipment, software or any combination thereof, entry materials that have been tampered with, or survey responses by email, fax, or telephone that are illegible, late, lost, damaged, postage due or misdirected, or entries not otherwise in compliance with these Official Rules. ISR reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend this survey if it becomes technically corrupted or if for any reason the Internet portion of the program is not capable of running as planned, including infections by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes beyond the control of ISR, which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this activity.  Limit of one completed survey per respondent. In the event of a dispute regarding the identity of the person submitting an online survey, the entry will be deemed to be submitted by the person in whose name the email account is registered (if the respondent provides such information).  Survey responses become the property of ISR and will not be returned.

3.
  PRIZES. Winners will be determined on or about November 5, 2008 according to the following procedures.  Prizes will also be awarded based on accuracy.  The respondent who predicts election outcomes most accurately will win a $100 gift certificate to a major online retailer (Amazon, eBay, or Target) of his or her choice.  Other gift certificate prizes will also be awarded according to respondents' prediction accuracy (see below). 

Prediction accuracy rank
Prize amount
1st
$100
2nd
$50
3rd
$25
4th
$20
5th through 14th
$15 each
all other respondents
$10 each
The primary accuracy score is simply the percentage of election winners (offices and ballot  measures) correctly predicted.  Ties are likely to be common, so ties will be split by a secondary accuracy score, which is the average (mean) difference between predicted and actual margins of victory (with lower scores indicating greater accuracy). 

Winners will be notified by email if participating confidentially.  Anonymous respondents who do not supply email addresses are responsible for checking the ISR election forecasting web site to ascertain the amount of their prizes.  Respondents alone are responsible for accessing information about prize notification through their own email accounts or the ISR web site.  ISR is not responsible if anyone other than the respondent  accesses this information or redeems the respondent's prize without the respondent's permission.


Prizes are not transferable and no prize substitution is allowed, except by ISR which  reserves the right to award a prize of equal or greater value if advertised prize is unavailable.  Odds of winning are determined by the total number of eligible respondents who complete the survey and the accuracy of predictions.

4.  GENERAL. This survey and forecasting activity is governed by the laws of the United States, with venue in Seattle, Washington and all claims must be resolved in the courts of Washington State.  By participating in the survey, respondents agree to release, discharge and hold harmless ISR, its owners, employees, agents, and service providers, from any damages which may arise out of participation in the survey or out of the acceptance, use, misuse or possession of prize.  By participating in this survey, you consent to ISR's unrestricted use and disclosure, without any compensation or obligation to you, of any de-identified responses, predictions, ideas, or suggestions you provide in connection with this survey.  By participating, respondents agree to these Official Rules and the decisions of ISR regarding prizes, which are final and binding in all respects.  All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.  Winner is responsible for any federal, state and local taxes.

ISR encourages you to share your comments; however, please note that ISR is not soliciting any ideas or suggestions.  Your responses to this survey are confidential and will be used for research and forecasting purposes only.  You will not be contacted as a result of any of the comments you provide unless you have given us permission to do so.  ISR will not share, sell, rent, trade, or give away any personally identifiable information you might provide us, except when it believes in good faith that such disclosures are (a) required by law, including, for example, to comply with a court order or subpoena, or (b) will help enforce our terms of use, enforce survey rules, protect your safety or security and/or protect the safety and security of ISR, our web site, our property, or our employees, agents, or service providers; or (c) to protect the safety or security of other third parties.  ISR will not publish your name,  email address, or postal address at any time.  ISR will not send you email if you request not to be contacted. 

5. CHANGES.  We reserve the right to change the terms and conditions of this agreement as needed.

Copyright © 2008  Interdisciplinary Scientific Research, LLC.  All rights reserved worldwide.