The rubric, in full
Methodology
Every score on this site is arithmetic, not opinion. A legislator's vote score is the points they earned divided by the points they could have earned, across every opportunity they had to vote on legislation TLRC has taken a position on.
How bills are chosen
Three broad categories are considered when choosing to score a bill:
- 1Constitutional integrityLimited government and individual liberty.
- 2Property and civil rightsPersonal and economic freedom.
- 3Fiscal impactBudget, accountability, and transparency.
For each scored bill, TLRC publishes its position — support or oppose — along with a plain-language summary and a statement explaining the position.
The point system
A floor vote in favor of our position on a bill receives three points. Otherwise, no points are awarded.
A committee vote in favor of our position receives one point. Otherwise, no points are awarded. Lack of a motion to hear a bill in committee is considered opposition to the bill and scored accordingly.
“Present, not voting” is scored as a vote in opposition to our stated position on a bill.
Absences are considered on a case-by-case basis. By default an absence is excluded from the legislator's potential score; documented exceptions are applied individually.
The potential vote score
Each legislator is graded against their own potential score: every opportunity they personally had to cast a vote on a scored measure, in committee and on the floor. Committee assignments differ, and not every bill moves through both chambers — so the denominator is different for every member. That is by design: it presents a complete picture of voting habits based on every opportunity the member actually had.
The formula
Vote Score = (points earned ÷ points possible) × 100
To keep comparisons equitable between members with different numbers of voting opportunities, multiple votes cast by one member on the same bill are each counted at their venue's point value. Every vote that goes into a score is itemized on the legislator's profile — you can audit the math yourself.