Method
We don't have opinions about officials. We have spreadsheets. Here is exactly what we do with them.
Where the numbers come from
Every figure on PaidFor comes only from public records, collected daily by automated runs from official sources. Nothing is typed in by hand and nothing is modeled or guessed.
Every figure links to its record: the dataset, the record id, and when it was collected. See the Sources page for the full register of where each dataset comes from and how to download it yourself.
Words we use
We describe what's in the record, plainly: received, gave, voted with, voted against, lobbied on, pattern, compared with party colleagues.
We never use words that claim a motive or a deal. We describe patterns in the record, not reasons.
Small numbers
Fewer than 5 votes in scope: we show nothing. Not enough to say anything.
5 to 9 votes: we show the count only, like "4 of 6 bills". No percentage.
10 or more votes: we show a percentage with a 90% range shown as ±, plus the difference from party colleagues in the same chamber on the same bills.
Which money counts
Interest money is money from PACs and organizations connected to an interest.
Individuals give their own money. "From people who listed [employer]" is a separate line, never added into interest money.
Unitemized gifts (below the FEC's itemization threshold) have no donor on the record and appear only in totals. The FEC itemizes individual gifts over $200; PaidFor shows individuals only as totals and never shows their names.
Party colleagues
Most votes follow party lines. So every alignment figure is compared with the member's party colleagues in the same chamber, on the same bills, not with the chamber as a whole.
Independents are compared with the party they caucus with. We say so wherever that comparison appears.
Delegates and the Resident Commissioner have no floor vote and are left out of vote figures entirely.
Members-elect get no vote figures until they have voted.
Outlooks for pending bills
Bill outlooks: expected tallies on pending bills (coming later).
When it's live, an expected tally will show an 80% range, with members placed in bands from very likely to very unlikely — never a single number.
A published back-test will accompany expected tallies.
Where money adds nothing measurable to the picture, the tally will say so plainly: "money adds nothing measurable here."
Even-handed
Examples always come in pairs, one Democrat and one Republican, chosen by the same rule. Same layout and same math for every party.
Known limits
Silence isn't a position: an official who takes no stated position on a bill isn't counted as agreeing or disagreeing with anyone.
Employer coding is noisy: a donor's self-reported employer field isn't always clean or consistent, so employer-based sector figures carry more error than committee-to-committee money.
Coverage differs by state. See Sources: coverage for what's live where.
Corrections
Spot something wrong? The corrections form on the About page opens soon. We check every report within 2 business days.
Corrections log
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Correlation is not cause. We say so next to every figure that might tempt you.