These are the official rules for the State of the American Address® contest (“SOTAA,” the “Contest”), operated by National Speakers League, Inc. (“NSL,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) as part of the Social Compact USA program. They work alongside our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, which are incorporated by reference. If these rules and the Terms conflict on a matter of eligibility or voting, these rules control for that matter.
Entry is free. No purchase or payment of any kind is required to enter or to win, and no purchase or payment will improve your chances of winning.
1. What the Contest Is
The Contest invites Americans to record and share their own State of the American Address: a short video speech setting out their vision for the country’s next 250 years. Entries are shown publicly, voted on by the public, and weighed by the Civic Review Board. Winners are recognized as the Virtual President USA and the Regional Vice Presidents for the season.
2. Eligibility and Divisions
The Contest is open to natural persons who are residents of the United States and who meet the requirements below. There are two divisions:
- Official Division (18 and over). Open to participants who are 18 years of age or older. If you are 18 or older, you may create an account and participate directly.
- Junior Division (ages 13 to 17). Open to participants who are 13 to 17 years of age. Participants under 18 may create an account, submit an entry, or vote only with the verifiable involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian, who agrees to these rules and the Terms of Service on the minor’s behalf.
Consistent with the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), where the Contest would collect personal information from a child under 13, it does so only with verifiable parental consent, as described in our Privacy Policy. A parent or legal guardian may review the child’s information, request its deletion, and withdraw consent by contacting privacy@sotaa250.com.
Employees, officers, and immediate family members of NSL, and others whose participation would create a conflict of interest, may be excluded where required to protect the integrity of the Contest.
3. How to Enter
- Create a free account and complete your participant profile.
- Record your audition as a video speech of roughly 90 seconds to 2 minutes, sharing your vision for America’s next chapter.
- Submit your entry through the Contest site. You may submit more than one audition during a season; see Section 5 for how multiple entries are counted.
Each entry must be your own original work, must comply with the content standards in Section 6 of the Terms of Service, and may not include unlawful, hateful, harassing, obscene, or infringing content. By submitting, you grant NSL the license described in Section 4 of the Terms so we can host, display, judge, and promote your entry.
4. Regions
Every participant is assigned to one of five regions based on their U.S. state, so that each region can be represented in the national round:
- Northwest · Midwest · Northeast · Southwest · Southeast
All fifty states, including Alaska and Hawaii, are grouped into these five regions. Your region is set from the state on your profile.
5. Voting and How Entries Are Counted
During an open voting window, any signed-in user may vote. Each voter may cast one vote per open ballot, and may move that vote between candidates while the window is open. Rankings reflect the votes cast during the window together with the Civic Review Board’s ruling (see Section 6).
Multiple entries. A participant may submit more than one audition. A participant is ranked on the total votes across all of their auditions, not on a single entry. Earlier auditions remain on the participant’s profile with the likes they earned.
Integrity. You agree to vote only as permitted and not to manipulate or interfere with voting or results, including by using bots or automated means, creating or using multiple or fake accounts, or buying, selling, or trading votes. We may investigate suspected fraud and may void votes, disqualify participants, or remove entries to protect the Contest.
6. Scoring and the Civic Review Board
The Civic Review Board is the Contest’s independent judging body. Each round, the Board issues a ruling that weighs each audition; that ruling, combined with the public’s likes and votes, sets the rank. The Board’s process opens when the scoring phase begins for the season, and the specific date is posted on the site.
7. The Journey: Regionals to Virtual President USA
- Regional voting. All eligible entries compete in an open national ballot. Votes are tallied per participant across their auditions.
- Advancement. When the regional window closes, the top five participants by total votes advance to the national round.
- National voting (Virtual President USA). The five advancing participants compete in the national ballot. The top vote-getter is elected Virtual President USA for the season; the other four are recognized as Regional Vice Presidents.
8. Prizes
The Contest awards US $10,000 in cash prizes each season:
- Grand Prize: US $5,000 to the national winner, who also receives the title of Virtual President USA.
- Regional Vice President: US $1,000 each, awarded to five recipients, for a total of US $5,000.
Payment. Prizes are paid in U.S. dollars. Prizes are awarded only to the verified individual who submitted the winning entry, are non-transferable, and no substitution or cash equivalent is offered beyond the options stated here.
Conditions. Before a prize is paid, a winner must confirm eligibility and complete any documentation we reasonably require, which may include identity verification and a tax form. We may award a prize to the next eligible entrant if a winner cannot be reached within a reasonable period, declines the prize, or is found to be ineligible or in breach of these rules or the Terms.
Taxes. Prizes are taxable. Each winner is solely responsible for all federal, state, and local taxes arising from a prize, and we will report prize payments and issue IRS Form 1099 where required by law.
9. Ties
In the event of a tie at any stage, the Civic Review Board makes the final determination. The Board’s decision is final.
10. Schedule
The Contest runs in phases: an entry period, one or more public voting windows, and the Civic Review Board’s scoring. The specific opening and closing dates for each phase are posted on the Contest site and announced by email to registered participants. Voting is only open during the posted windows; outside those windows the ballot is closed.
11. Conduct, Moderation, and Disqualification
We may review, decline, remove, or disqualify any entry at any time, in our sole discretion, including through our moderation and Board-review processes. Grounds for removal or disqualification include content that violates the standards in the Terms of Service, impersonation or false claims of affiliation, and any attempt to manipulate voting. Winner determinations and other Contest decisions made by NSL and the Civic Review Board are final.
12. Publicity; Name, Image, and Likeness
Except where prohibited by law, by participating you agree that NSL may use your name or chosen display name, city and state, participant profile, voice, image, likeness, and entry for news, informational, and promotional purposes relating to the Contest, as described in Section 7 of the Terms of Service. For minors, the parent or legal guardian provides this agreement. Winners may be required to sign additional eligibility, publicity, or liability releases as a condition of receiving any recognition or prize.
13. Changes to These Rules
We may modify these rules at any time. When we do, we will post the revised rules on this page and update the Effective Date above. For material changes, we will use commercially reasonable efforts to provide additional notice. Your continued participation after the revised rules take effect constitutes your acceptance of them.
14. Contact
Questions about these rules? Contact us at:
National Speakers League, Inc.
Email: support@sotaa250.com