THE WORKING-CLASS SCORE
HOW THE SCORE WORKS
The Working-Class Score measures how often a member of Congress voted with the working-class position on the qualifying votes they actually cast.
A score of 75 means the member aligned with the working-class position on 75% of the qualifying votes they cast. Participation is shown separately.
WHAT COUNTS AS A WORKING-CLASS VOTE?
Not every vote in Congress belongs in the score. A vote must involve a binding policy decision, have a material effect on working-class Americans, and have a reasonably clear working-class position.
When a policy creates competing effects within the working class, we use an Economic Floor Principle: protecting the basic economic security of households with the least capacity to absorb a loss takes precedence over gains for households that are already more economically secure.
WHO DECIDES?
The working-class position is determined by applying the published methodology to each qualifying policy decision. Judgment is involved, which is why we show the criteria, the reasoning, and the primary records behind each decision.
The methodology is applied before individual member scores are calculated, so the scoring process does not begin with a politician and work backward toward a result.
THE METHODOLOGY CAME FIRST. THE SCORES CAME LAST.
We established the methodology, identified the qualifying votes, and determined the working-class position on each vote before calculating individual scores.
Only after those decisions were complete did we aggregate members' official voting records and calculate their scores.
We did not start with politicians and work backward toward a result.
DON'T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT.
Every scored vote links to the official congressional roll call. You can see what counted, how each member voted, and the primary record behind the score.
The results are not designed to produce political balance. The same methodology is applied to every member's official voting record.
REVIEW THE FULL RECORD119TH CONGRESS
THE FULL RECORD
Review every current member of Congress and see how the same methodology produces different results across parties, states, and chambers. House and Senate scores are based on different qualifying vote sets and should not be compared as if they share the same denominator.