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State legislative scorecards
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Often used in sports and business, scorecards note the improvement or lack thereof of a player, team or institution.
Similarly in politics, scorecards provide information on the status or progress of politicians and/or policy issues. They are aggregated on Ballotpedia profiles to help provide context for readers on an official’s term in office, a policy or an incumbent’s voting record.
Some scorecards are created with a focus on specific issues, while others are broad in scope.
On Ballotpedia, we define scorecards as those produced by newspapers, interest groups, think tanks, partisan groups, 501(c)(3)s and 501c4s that provide relative rankings and cover all state or federal lawmakers.
Because scorecards can be specific to particular issues or general to a state’s legislative term, each report should be considered on its own merits. Each entity that publishes these reports uses different methodologies and definitions for the terms used.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
We are also in the process of adding more in-depth descriptions about the reports and the scoring processes.
If you are aware of a scorecard Ballotpedia has not included, please email it to editor@ballotpedia.org.
What qualifies as a scorecard?
For encyclopedic purposes, Ballotpedia makes an effort to include all state scorecards (as defined below).
Ballotpedia defines scorecards as those produced by newspapers, interest groups, think tanks, partisan groups, 501(c)(3)s and 501c4s that provide relative rankings and covers all state or federal lawmakers.
Scorecards may also be referred to as voter guides or indexes.
- Scorecards: records used to measure achievement or progress. The measurement and subjects in the record vary in each publication.
- Voter guides: the term "voter guides" generally refers to pamphlets published and distributed by state governments just prior to an election. However, non-government groups, such as nonprofits, newspapers and interest groups, also publish guides for voters’ use. The guides may be written in an unbiased nature and present only what will appear on the ballot or they may display whether the group supports, opposes or is neutral on an issue or candidate. The latter version is similar to and can be considered a scorecard.
- Indexes: can refer to an alphabetical list of names, topics or items. However, it is also defined as a measure or an indicator. The term “indexes” is also used in reference to what Ballotpedia classifies as “scorecards.”
Where Ballotpedia finds scorecards
Ballotpedia makes every effort to collect scorecards as many scorecards as possible for each state, but is limited to those scorecards that are readily available and accessible. Research to find scorecards is conducted primarily through search engine queries, but also includes limited reference to Project Vote Smart. If you are aware of a scorecard Ballotpedia has not included please email it to editor@ballotpedia.org.
Questions?
If you have any questions or comments please email us at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Footnotes
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