How It Works
Data, not opinions.
Every score is calculated from roll-call votes. No surveys. No punditry. Just the record.
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Vote Scoring

Every roll-call vote is weighted and scored across four axes: economic, social, foreign policy, and governance. Composite scores range from −10 (most liberal) to +10 (most conservative).

Votes are weighted by significance — procedural votes count less than final passage. Unanimous votes are excluded. Absences are noted but don't affect the score.

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Shift Detection

We track position changes over time. When a member's score moves more than 1.5 points on any axis in a single congress, we flag it with the votes that caused the shift.

Shifts are categorized as minor (1.5–3.0 pts), significant (3.0–5.0 pts), or major (5.0+ pts). Every flag includes links to the specific votes.

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Vote Prediction

Predictions use a model trained on 35 years of voting records, factoring in ideology, party, state, committee membership, and past votes on similar legislation.

Confidence scores are calculated from historical accuracy. ≥70% = Pass/Fail, 55–69% = Toss-Up, <55% = Too Close to Call.

The Four Axes

💰 Economic

Taxation, spending, regulation, trade, labor, entitlements. High positive score = fiscally conservative; high negative score = progressive economics.

🏛 Social

Civil rights, criminal justice, abortion, guns, education, healthcare access. High positive score = social conservative; high negative = social liberal.

🌍 Foreign Policy

Defense spending, military intervention, treaties, foreign aid, trade agreements. High positive score = hawkish; high negative = dovish/non-interventionist.

🏛 Governance

Federal vs state authority, executive power, election law, transparency, procedural reform. High positive = limited government; high negative = federal authority.

Data Sources

  • ✔ Congress.gov — official roll-call votes
  • ✔ GovTrack.us — bill classification & tracking
  • ✔ ProPublica Congress API — member data
  • ✔ FEC.gov — campaign finance records
  • ✔ C-SPAN — floor speeches & hearings
  • ✔ Official member websites & press releases