VoteFacts.com News Reports today launched a public-access website to provide citizens and organizations concerned about the health of American democracy with information they can use to monitor the most consequential legislative actions in Congress, track individual lawmakers' voting records and hold representatives and senators accountable on Election Day.
Focusing on dozens of headline-worthy roll-call votes during the two-year span of the current 117th Congress, VoteFacts.com presents a wealth of legislative detail to help constituents make choices in next month's House and Senate elections that reflect their values. The coverage will continue in the 118th Congress and beyond.
Strictly nonpartisan and fact-based in its coverage, VoteFacts.com provides a truth check against the misinformation about Congress and its members that often inflames political discussions, especially in campaign attack ads and candidate debates, where incumbents' voting records and the substance of major bills in the news are routinely distorted or falsified.
To establish trust with readers buffeted by some politicians' claims of alleged "fake news," the website notes that its reporting staff is accredited by the U.S. House and Senate daily press galleries and obeys the strict professional and ethical rules for holding a congressional press card.
VoteFacts.com organizes its coverage in alphabetical order under topics including Abortion, Biden Agenda, Democracy, Equality, Foreign Affairs, Guns, Immigration, Labor/Workplace and Law Enforcement, allowing readers quick access to concisely presented information. "Whether they spend 10 minutes or two hours on the website, constituents will be able to educate themselves about the key points of bills in the headlines and members' voting records," said Editor Richard G. Thomas.
"Our launch fills a void in U.S. political journalism," Thomas said, "because no other professional news organization offers a public website devoted exclusively to congressional voting, not as mere data but as a complete news story that respects the desire of constituents for accountability information about their federal lawmakers' most fundamental democratic duty — the casting of votes to settle arguments on bills and policies that affect the quality of everyday lives."
The parent company of VoteFacts.com is Thomas Voting Reports, the longest running independent news service in Washington, with its staff having been accredited by the daily press galleries on Capitol Hill since 1973. For nearly a half-century until June 2021, more than 720 daily newspapers — including the New York Times Regional Newspapers, Washington Post, Cox Newspapers, Ottaway Newspapers, Philadelphia Inquirer, Richmond Times Dispatch, Seattle Times, Houston Chronicle and numerous other publications in towns and cities of all sizes in the 50 states and Puerto Rico — were paid subscribers at one time or another to our news reports on key actions and votes in Congress. The company is now in transition to a nonprofit business model to support its free-of-charge website.
VoteFacts.com is based at the open-source publishing platform Newspack.pub, an affiliate of WordPress.com and the Google News Initiative.
