You can browse public information without signing in. Start with the community calendar for events or Search when you know a name or topic.
Find a meeting and read its notes
- Open the community calendar. Use the month arrows to find a date. Select a day to show its events, or switch to Agenda for a list of upcoming events.
- Use Organization, Calendar, Category, or Search events to narrow the list. Meetings are labeled Meeting.
- Select the event title to open its page. If records have been added, the Meeting record section shows notes or minutes, a transcript, attendance, votes, and downloadable files.
If you do not see meeting notes, they may not have been added yet. For an older meeting, go to its month and select its day; the default event list starts from today.
Keep up with the calendar
Calendar times are shown in the America/New_York time zone. Subscribe to calendar adds an updating feed of public events to your calendar app. If that button does not open your app, expand Use a subscription URL and copy the address. Download calendar imports a one-time copy instead. Updates to a subscription depend on your calendar app’s refresh schedule.
Search and explore
- Search Civic Pulse by name or topic, or choose a Content type to browse without entering a search term. Results can include people, organizations, elections, articles, maps, and events.
- Explore maps by choosing a map, then opening Map settings to turn layers on or off. Use Search places, precincts or addresses in Places on your map; select a place there or on the map to see its details. Copy map link shares the current layer selection.
- Browse people and organizations to find profiles and related information. Each directory has its own name search.
- Open elections for available contests, candidates, and dates or deadlines. Select a date to open its calendar event.
If a search shows nothing, try a shorter term, another content type, or fewer calendar or map filters. Some records have not been added yet.
Accounts and access
You do not need an account to browse public information. To create one, create an account with your email and a password of at least eight characters. Complete the security check and confirm your email if prompted. After signing in, Your account shows your account details and lets you sign out. A regular account currently gives you the same content access as a public visitor.
Unlisted records can be opened with a direct link but do not appear in public listings or search. Private records require admin access. If a link says an admin account is required, signing in with a regular account will not open it.
Information may change. Confirm important meeting, voting, or service details with the organization that published them.
Connect an AI agent
Follow AI plugins, MCP, and skills for ChatGPT and Codex setup, other MCP clients, OpenAI and Pi plugin repositories, and reusable civic workflows. Each assistant connects through your own Civic Pulse account. Admin tools require an admin account; review proposed changes before saving. Revoke access under Account → Connected apps.
Follow a records request
Open Records requests to search Open Records Requests (ORR), federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and other records requests. Filter by stage or organization; organization profiles link to requests they receive or originate. Open a request to read its timeline, fees, supporting files and news links.
The stage describes progress: draft, submitted, initial response, in progress, appeal / mediation, or closed. Outcome is separate: not assessed, satisfactory, partial, or unsatisfactory. A partial release can remain in progress. Follow-up dates are manually recorded, not legal deadlines or automatic reminders.
Fees are recorded in USD as separate estimated, billed and paid entries. Totals sum each category independently; estimates are not added to bills or payments. No fees recorded does not establish that a request is free.
Public requests appear in the directory. Unlisted requests require their direct link. Private requests are visible only to their assigned owner and admins. Account ownership and transfer history are always private. Files can be private even when a request is public; downloads use short-lived links.
Only admins create requests. If one is assigned to you, use Account → Manage your records requests, then Manage this request to update it. You can add updates, fees, links and files, change visibility, and transfer it to another registered user using their Account-page user ID. A transfer gives the recipient access to private files; the previous owner loses access unless they are an admin. Saving records here does not submit a request or payment to an agency.
Change history
Choose View history on an organization, person, election, map, event, office, service record, candidacy, ballot question, or article to open its live history. Open a revision to compare Before and After, with the edit time and the editor’s display name. Relationship edits also appear in the owning record’s history: for example, candidacy changes appear for the person and election. Use Load older changes to continue through earlier revisions.
Anonymous visitors and regular signed-in users see the same history: revisions must have been public when recorded, and the record and its referenced records must still be public. Edits made while private or unlisted, including publication transitions containing hidden earlier values, stay hidden. Public deletions can remain visible; deleting a hidden record does not make its past history public. Editor account IDs and email addresses are not shown in public history. Meeting file storage paths are also hidden; use the meeting viewer to access files.
Tracking begins when this feature is enabled; edits before that point cannot be reconstructed. Imports and maintenance without a signed-in editor are labeled System / import. History updates immediately, even when the profile page still shows the previous static build. History is for inspection; it does not restore or roll back records.