Today, Common Cause released its 2024 Democracy Scorecard, tracking the positions of every Member of Congress on issues vital to the health of our democracy during the 118^th Congress. Throughout this Congress, members of the House and Senate were notified that various votes on key democracy issues – including voting rights, judicial ethics and campaign finance disclosure – would be counted in the Scorecard, which will be distributed to our 1.5 million members, allies, and state and national media.

“These pro-democracy reforms enjoy broad public support nationally, and it is important for Americans to know whether their elected representatives in Congress are voting for or against these commonsense reforms in Washington,” said Virginia Kase Solomón, President and CEO of Common Cause. “People are tired of the status quo – the outsized role special interests and secret money play in our elections, Supreme Court Justices who ignore ethical standards, and gerrymandered congressional districts that allow politicians to choose their voters, instead of the other way around. Common Cause’s Democracy Scorecard lets Americans know where their representatives in Washington stand on these issues of critical importance to our democracy.”

The Scorecard does not ‘rate’ candidates. Instead, it spotlights the votes and co-sponsors of legislation that would protect our elections, elevate the voices of all Americans in politics and government, make voting more accessible, end partisan gerrymandering so that every American has a fair chance to elect representatives of their choice, and promote high ethical standards for elected and appointed officials. Some highlights of our 2024 Democracy Scorecard include:

• This year’s Democracy Scorecard has 117 Members with perfect scores, a 15.8% increase in perfect scores over our 2022 Scorecard (which had 101 perfect scores) and a more than 100% increase from our 2020 Scorecard (which had 58 perfect scores)
• California has the most Members with perfect scores (23)
• California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont all have both Senators with perfect scores
• Rhode Island and Vermont are the only states whose entire congressional delegations have a perfect score
• Wyoming is the only state whose entire delegation has a “zero”
• 148 Members have a “zero”

“Partisan gridlock on Capitol Hill has kept these popular reforms from becoming law, but similar legislation has been passed around the country in red, blue, and purple states and localities,” said Aaron Scherb, Common Cause Senior Director of Legislative Affairs. “Americans have seen these reforms bring about real change locally, and they are ready for Congress to follow suit. The Scorecard tracks who is backing reform and who is blocking reform to keep the broken status quo.”

Our 2024 Democracy Scorecard includes bills such as the Freedom to Vote Act, John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act, and other important pro-democracy bills.

Common Cause previously issued “Democracy Scorecards” in 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022 based on the votes and co-sponsorship of key democracy reform bills.

To view the full 2024 Democracy Scorecard, click here.