Postcard Contest Rules - Education Votes

Limitations

The entry period for the NEA 2024 GOTV Post Card Art Contest (the “Contest”) begins on May 21, 2024, at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) and ends on June 14, 2024, at 5 p.m. ET (“Entry Period”). Finalist entries (as outlined below) will be posted for public voting from July 1, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. ET to July 19, 2024, at 5 p.m. ET.

ELIGIBILITY: Contest is open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and the District of Columbia, who are 18 years of age or older and current NEA members in good standing. Employees of the National Education Association (“Sponsor”), their respective subsidiaries, affiliates, distributors, promotion and advertising agencies, and members of their immediate family (spouse and parent, children and siblings and their respective spouses, regardless of where they reside) and persons living in the same household, whether or not related, of such employees, are not eligible to enter or win. Void where prohibited by law. Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state and local laws. The information you provide will be used for the purposes of Contest administration.

HOW TO ENTER: During the Entry Period, visit educationvotes.nea.org and follow the instructions to complete the entry form provided and upload an original poster art design that inspires educators to vote in the 2024 election and submit to receive one (1) entry (each, an “Entry”).

GOTV Post Card Design Conditions:

Design must be submitted in a high-resolution Photoshop, InDesign, PDF, or image file at a size of 4″ X 6″, no more than 50MB in file size.

Designs should be limited to eight (8) or fewer colors.

Limit of one (1) Entry per person using only one (1) email address throughout the Entry Period. Entries received from any person or email address in excess of the stated limitation will be void. If you choose to participate in the Contest using your mobile phone, standard data rates may apply. See your wireless service provider for pricing plan details.

REQUIREMENTS OF ENTRIES: Entry may not contain, as determined by the Sponsor, in its sole discretion, any content that:

is sexually explicit or suggestive; violent or derogatory of any ethnic, racial, gender, religious, professional or age group; profane or pornographic;
promotes alcohol, illegal drugs, tobacco, firearms/weapons (or the use of any of the foregoing);
promotes any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous;
promotes any particular political candidate or party;
is obscene or offensive;
endorses any form of hate or hate group;
defames, misrepresents or contains disparaging remarks about other people or companies;
contains trademarks, logos or trade dress owned by others (excluding those of Sponsor, which will be permitted);
contains any person or any personal identification such as personal names or email addresses;
contains copyrighted materials owned by others;
contains materials embodying the names, likenesses, voices or other indicia identifying any person, including, without limitation, celebrities and/or other public or private figures, living or dead;
or violates any applicable law.

The Sponsor reserves the right to reject any Entry which Sponsor determines, in its sole and absolute discretion, does not meet the above criteria or is otherwise offensive or is not in keeping with the Sponsor’s image and reputation. Sponsor reserves the right to remove any Entry without prior notice.

Entry must be the original work of the entrant; may not have been previously published; may not have won previous awards; and must not infringe upon the copyrights, trademarks, rights of privacy, publicity or other intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity. If the Entry contains any material or elements that are not owned by the entrant, and/or which are subject to the rights of third parties, the entrant is responsible for obtaining, prior to submission of the Entry, any and all releases and consents necessary to permit the use and exhibition of the Entry by Sponsor in the manner set forth in these Official Rules, including, without limitation, name and likeness permissions from any person or any third party who is identifiable in an Entry. Sponsor reserves the right to request proof of these permissions in a form acceptable to Sponsor from any entrant at any time. Failure to provide such proof may, if requested, render Entry null and void. By submitting an Entry, entrant warrants and represents that he/she and the person or third party who is identifiable in the Entry consent to the submission and use of the Entry in the Contest and to its use as otherwise set forth herein.

By submitting an Entry, entrant hereby grants the Released Parties (as defined below) a license (as described in further detail below)for the Entry to be posted at educationvotes.nea.org or other websites, used in press materials, or in any other manner which Sponsor deems appropriate. Entrant agrees that Released Parties are not responsible for any unauthorized use of Entries by third parties. Released Parties do not guarantee the posting of any Entry and may remove a posted Entry at any time.

JUDGING PHASE: All eligible Entries received throughout the Entry Period will be judged by administrator based on the following judging criteria: 1) Originality (35%); 2) Creativity (35%); and 3) Adherence to Contest theme (30%). The five (5) Entries with the highest scores will be deemed potential finalists and proceed to the Finalist Voting Phase identified below, subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules. In the event of a tie, an additional, “tie-breaking” judge will determine the finalist(s) based on the criteria listed herein. Sponsor reserves the right to advance fewer than five (5) finalists to the Finalist Voting Phase if, in its sole discretion, it does not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified Entries.

FINALIST NOTIFICATION: Judges’ and Sponsor’s decisions are final and binding on all matters relating to this Contest. Potential finalists will be notified by phone, mail and/or email on or about July 31, 2024, and will be required to (i) complete an Affidavit of Eligibility, Liability and Publicity Release (unless prohibited by law); (ii) submit a final Photoshop or another common format of a layered design file of their Entry (i.e., an InDesign file) and any other documents required by Sponsor within 48 hours from time of initial notification. Return of finalist notification as undeliverable, failure to sign and return requested documentation or provide the final Entry design file requested within the specified time period, the inability of Sponsor to contact a potential finalist within the time period specified above or noncompliance with these Official Rules by a potential finalist will result in disqualification and, at Sponsor’s sole discretion, a runner- up finalist may be notified. If Sponsor so elects, potential finalists may be required to submit to, and cooperate in, a confidential background check to confirm eligibility and to help ensure that the use of any such person in advertising or publicity for the Contest will not bring Sponsor into public disrepute, contempt, scandal or ridicule or reflect unfavorably on the Contest or the Sponsor as determined by Sponsor in their sole discretion. If requested, potential finalists will agree to such background check and understand and agree that Sponsor may disqualify a finalist based on the results of the background check.

FINALIST VOTING PHASE: Up to six (6) finalist Entries will be posted at educationvotes.nea.org for public voting from July 1, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. ET to July 19, 2024, at 12 p.m. ET. (the “Voting Period”). Individuals will be able to view the finalist Entries and vote for their favorite. Limit of one (1) vote per person/email address each day throughout the Voting Period. Votes received from any person or email address in excess of the stated daily limitation will be void. Finalists are prohibited from obtaining votes by any fraudulent or inappropriate means, including, without limitation, offering prizes or other inducements to members of the public and/or using any websites or online forums designed to induce individuals or provide other incentives to vote for their Entry, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. All votes are subject to final verification by Sponsor. Use of script, macro or other automated systems to vote or with the intent to impair the integrity of the voting process is prohibited and all such votes will be void.

The one (1) finalist Entry with the highest number of votes will be deemed the potential 1st Place prize winner, subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules and confirmed tabulation of votes. The finalist Entry with the next highest number of votes will be deemed the potential 2nd Place prize winner, subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules and confirmed tabulation of votes. The finalist Entry with the next highest number of votes will be deemed the potential 3rd Place prize winner, subject to verification of eligibility and compliance with these Official Rules and confirmed tabulation of votes. In the event of a tie, a “tie-breaking” judge will identify the applicable winner(s) based on the criteria listed above. Sponsor reserves the right to award fewer than the number of prizes specified above if, in its sole discretion, it does not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified Entries. Each finalist will subsequently be notified via phone, email and/or mail on or about Aug. 5, 2024, to notify him/her of the prize they will be receiving.

1ST PLACE PRIZE (1): Winner will receive $2,500, awarded in the form of a check. Approximate Retail Value (“ARV”) of prize: $2,500.

2ND PLACE PRIZE (1): Winner will receive $1,000 awarded in the form of a check. ARV of prize: $1,000.

3RD PLACE PRIZE (1): Winner will receive $500 awarded in the form of a check. ARV of prize: $500.

Total ARV of all prizes combined is $4,000.

PRIZE CONDITIONS: All federal, state and local taxes and all other costs associated with prize acceptance and use not specified herein as being provided are the sole responsibility of the winners. Winners may not substitute, assign or transfer prize or redeem prize for cash, but Sponsor reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to substitute any prize (or portion thereof) with one of comparable or greater value. All prize details are at Sponsor’s sole discretion. Limit of one (1) prize per person throughout the Contest. If Sponsor determines in its sole discretion that a winning Entry must be disqualified, Sponsor may demand the return of any prizes from the disqualified entrant.

LICENSE/USE OF ENTRIES: By submitting an Entry, and to the extent allowed by law, you grant the Released Parties a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sub licensable, unconditional and transferable license to edit, modify, cut, rearrange, add to, delete from, reproduce, encode, store, modify, copy, transmit, publish, post, broadcast, display, adapt, exhibit and/or otherwise use or reuse your Entry, name, finalist Entry (if applicable), and biographical material including, but not limited to, all materials submitted in connection with the Contest in any and all media, throughout the world, and in any manner, for trade, advertising, promotional, commercial, or any other purposes without further review, notice, approval, consideration, or compensation to entrant or any third party.

GENERAL CONDITIONS: By participating, each entrant agrees: (a) to abide by these Official Rules and the decisions of the Sponsor and Judges, which shall be final and binding in all respects relating to this Contest; (b) to release, discharge and hold harmless Sponsor, its respective affiliates, subsidiaries, distributors, and advertising and promotion agencies, and the respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and representatives of the foregoing (collectively, “Released Parties”) from any and all injuries, liability, losses and damages of any kind to persons, including death, or property resulting, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from entrant’s participation in the Contest or any Contest related activity or the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any awarded prize; and (c) to the use of his/her name, voice, performance, photograph, prize information, image and/or likeness for programming, advertising, publicity, trade and promotional purposes in any and all media, now or hereafter known, worldwide and on the Internet, and in perpetuity by Sponsor and its designees, without compensation (unless prohibited by law) or additional consents from entrant or any third party and without prior notice, approval or inspection, and to execute specific consent to such use if asked to do so. By participating, participant also agrees not to release any publicity or other materials on their own or through someone else regarding their participation in the Contest without the prior consent of the Sponsor, which either may withhold in its sole discretion.

MISCELLANEOUS: Released Parties are not responsible for lost, late, incomplete, damaged, inaccurate, stolen, delayed, misdirected, undelivered, or garbled Entries, designs, or votes; or for lost, interrupted or unavailable network, server, Internet Service Provider (ISP), website, or other connections, availability or accessibility or miscommunications or failed computer, satellite, telephone or cable transmissions, lines, or technical failure or jumbled, scrambled, delayed, or misdirected transmissions or computer hardware or software malfunctions, failures or difficulties, or other errors or difficulties of any kind whether human, mechanical, electronic, computer, network, typographical, printing or otherwise relating to or in connection with the Contest, including, without limitation, errors or difficulties which may occur in connection with the administration of the Contest, the processing or judging of Entries, designs, the tabulation and calculation of votes, the announcement of the prizes and winners, or in any other Contest-related materials. Released Parties are also not responsible for any incorrect or inaccurate information, whether caused by site users, tampering, hacking, or by any equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest. Released Parties are not responsible for injury or damage to any person’s computer related to or resulting from participating in this Contest or downloading materials from or use of the website. Persons who tamper with or abuse any aspect of the Contest or website, who act in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner or who are in violation of these Official Rules, as solely determined by Sponsor, will be disqualified and all associated entries/photos will be void. Should any portion of the Contest be, in Sponsor’s sole opinion, compromised by virus, worms, bugs, non-authorized human intervention or other causes which, in the sole opinion of the Sponsor, corrupt or impair the administration, security, fairness or proper play, or submission of Entries, Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to suspend, modify or terminate the Contest and, if terminated, at its discretion, select the potential winners from all eligible, non-suspect Entries received prior to action taken using the judging criteria identified above. In the event of a dispute regarding entries received from multiple users having the same email address, the authorized subscriber of the email address at the time of entry will be deemed to be the entrant and must comply with these Official Rules. Authorized account subscriber is the natural person who is assigned to the applicable email account by the email service provider. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE THE WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE IN VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS AND SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK ANY AND ALL REMEDIES AVAILABLE FROM ANY SUCH INDIVIDUAL TO THE FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LAW, INCLUDING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION.

CHOICE OF LAW: All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of participant and Sponsor in connection with the Contest, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the substantive laws of the District of Columbia, USA.

WINNERS’ NAMES: For the names of the winners, available after Aug 6, 2024, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: NEA 2024 Art Poster Contest Winners, 1201 16th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036, for receipt by Sept. 13, 2024.

Sponsor: National Education Association, 1201 16th Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036.