Guide to Usage

The following guide explains the information sources used by The Almanac of American Politics. Much of the tabular information was provided by Polidata, a Virginia-based political statistics and demographics firm. Other major sources of information include the U.S. Census Bureau, and the staffs of National Journal and The Cook Political Report. The 2012 Almanac uses the latest available data and offers significant updates from the last edition of the book, published in 2009. Figures released by the Census Bureau may vary slightly from those used by The Almanac due to different methods of data aggregation or tabulation.

Biography

This section lists the date each governor, senator and representative was elected or appointed, the date and place of birth, current hometown, college degrees earned, religion, marital status and, if applicable, spouse’s name and number of children. Also provided is a brief outline of the subject’s past elected offices, professional career and military service and office addresses, telephone numbers and Web sites. Committee and subcommittee assignments are current as of June 2011. (Note: On many committees, the chairman and ranking minority member are ex officio members of subcommittees. Committee listings do not appear for the congressional leaders who are not assigned to committees.)

Group Ratings

The congressional ratings by 10 interest groups provide insight into a legislator’s general ideology and the degree to which he or she reflects the individual group’s point of view. Some organizations provided just one rating for 2009 and 2010, the two sessions of the 111th Congress.

ADA Americans for Democratic Action

Liberal: Liberal: Since its founding in 1947, ADA has pushed for less defense spending and for protection of civil liberties and human rights. The ADA used 20 votes during the 111th Congress for its analysis.

ACLU American Civil Liberties Union

Pro-individual liberties: ACLU seeks to protect individuals from what it views as legal, executive and congressional infringements on civil liberties. The ACLU ratings are published once every Congress.

AFS American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)

Liberal labor: The nation’s largest public service employees union, AFSCME is committed to improving working conditions through collective bargaining. Its analysis is based on a sample of roll call votes.

LCV League of Conservation Voters

Environmental: Formed in 1970, LCV is the national, non-partisan arm of the environmental movement that works to elect pro-environmental protection candidates to Congress. LCV ratings are based on key votes on energy, environment and natural resources legislation.

ITIC Information Technology Industry Council

High-tech industry: ITIC represents the leading U.S. providers of information technology products and services. Its mission is to help shape policies that advance electronic commerce and foster innovation.

NTU National Taxpayers Union

Pro-taxpayer rights: The NTU is the nation’s oldest taxpayers’ rights group, with members in all 50 states. It analyzes roll call votes that significantly affect federal taxes, regulations, and spending and debt.

COC Chamber of Commerce of the United States

Pro-business: Founded in 1912, the COC represents local, regional and state chambers of commerce in addition to trade and professional organizations.

ACU American Conservative Union

Conservative: Since 1971, ACU ratings have provided a means of gauging the conservatism of members of Congress. Foreign policy, social and budget issues are analyzed.

CFG Club for Growth

Pro-tax limitation: CFG supports limited government, lower taxes and policies it deems favorable to economic growth. CFG ratings are based on key votes on bills dealing with taxes, trade and the economy.

FRC Family Research Council

Conservative: Founded in 1983, the FRC promotes marriage and family and advocates for policies that uphold Judeo-Christian values. It bases its ratings on votes on abortion rights and family issues.

National Journal Ratings

National Journal’s rating system is an objective method of analyzing congressional voting. A panel of the magazine’s editors and writers compiled a list of congressional roll call votes and classified them as economic, social or foreign policy related. The votes in each issue area were subjected to a principal-components analysis, a statistical procedure designed to determine the degree to which each vote resembled other votes in the same category (the same members tending to vote together). The analysis also revealed which yea votes correlated with which nay votes within each issue area (members voting yea on certain issues tended to vote nay on others). The yea and nay positions on each roll call were then identified as conservative or liberal. Each roll call vote was assigned a weight from 1 (lowest) to 3 (highest), based on the degree to which it correlated with other votes in the same issue area. A higher weight meant that vote was more strongly correlated with other votes and was therefore a better test of economic, social or foreign policy ideology. Members of Congress who participated in at least half of the votes in each area received ratings. Members who missed more than half the votes were not scored (shown as *). Absences and abstentions were not counted.

Members of Congress were then ranked according to relative liberalism and conservatism. Finally, they were assigned percentiles showing their rank relative to others in the chamber. The liberal percentage score means that the member’s votes were more liberal than that percentage of his or her colleagues’ votes in that issue area in 2010. The conservative score means that the member’s votes were more conservative than that percentage of his or her colleagues’ votes. The composite score is an average of a member’s six issue-based scores.

Key Votes

The key votes section illustrates a legislator’s stances on important issues and provides clues to his or her general ideology. The following list of key votes is from the 111th Congress (2009-10) and was selected by The Almanac staff. A member who was absent, voted present, or was not in office at the time of a vote receives an *. Roll-call data were obtained from the House clerk and Senate secretary. NV means “did not vote,” and P means voted “present”.

House Votes 2009:

1. Overturn Ledbetter decision
   Reverse the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber by extending the statute of limitations in pay-discrimination cases.
   House H.R.11. Roll Call 9 (Jan. 9, 2009)
   Yea: 247, Nay: 171
   (D: 244-5; R: 3-166)


2. Pass $820 billion stimulus
   Approve an $820 billion bill to revive the U.S. economy.
   House H.R.1 Roll Call 46 (Jan. 28, 2009)
   Yea: 244, Nay: 188
   (D: 244-11; R: 0-177, NV-1)


3. Allow guns in national parks
   Permit people to carry guns in national parks and wildlife refuges.
   House H.R.627. Roll Call 277 (May 20, 2009)
   Yea: 279, Nay: 147
   (D: 105-145, NV-5; R: 174-2, NV-2)


4. Establish cap-and-trade system
   Allow industries to trade pollution allowance credits as a way of reducing greenhouse gases.
   House H.R.2454. Roll Call 477 (June 26, 2009)
   Yea: 219, Nay: 212
   (D: 211-44, NV-1; R: 8-168, NV-2)


5. Bar federal funds for abortion
   Prohibit the use of federal funds for health insurance plans that cover abortion.
   House H.R.3962. Roll Call 884 (Nov. 7, 2009)
   Yea: 240, Nay: 194
   (D: 64-194; R: 176-0, P-1)


6. Pass health care bill
   Approve a health care overhaul, including a government-run option for people without private insurance.
   House H.R.3962. Roll Call 887 (Nov. 7, 2009)
   Yea: 220, Nay: 215
   (D: 219-39; R: 1-176)


House Votes 2010:
1. Regulate financial services industry
   Approve new federal regulations on financial services firms.
   House H.R.4173. Roll Call 413 (June 30, 2010)
   Yea: 237, Nay: 192
   (D: 234-19, NV-2; R: 3-173, NV-2)


2. Extend Bush-era tax cuts for middle class
   Continue the Bush-era income tax cuts for individuals earning less than $200,000 and households earning less than $250,000.
   House H.R.4853. Roll Call 604 (Dec. 2, 2010)
   Yea: 234, Nay: 188
   (D: 231-20, NV-4; R: 3-168, NV-8)


3. Stop Guantanamo transfers
   Prohibit the use of defense funds to transfer or release detainees at the U.S. facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
   House H.R.5136. Roll Call 335 (May 28, 2010)
   Yea: 282, Nay: 131
   (D: 114-130, NV-10; R: 168-1, NV-8)


4. Legalize kids of illegal immigrants
   Approve a bill to give children of illegal immigrants a path to legal status.
   House H.R.5281. Roll Call 625 (Dec. 8, 2010)
   Yea: 216, Nay: 198
   (D: 208-38, NV-9; R: 8-160, NV-11)


5. Repeal “Don’t ask, don’t tell”
   Lift the ban on openly gay people serving in the military.
   House H.R.2965. Roll Call 638 (Dec. 15, 2010)
   Yea: 250, Nay: 175
   (D: 235-15, NV-5; R: 15-160, NV-4)


6. Limit campaign funds
   Pass the DISCLOSE Act requiring sponsors of campaign ads to identify themselves.
   House H.R.5175. Roll Call 391 (June 24, 2010)
   Yea: 219, Nay: 206
   (D: 217-36, NV-2, R: 2-170, NV-6)




Senate Votes 2009:
1. Overturn Ledbetter decision
   Reverse the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber by extending the statute of limitations in pay discrimination cases beyond 180 days.
   Senate S.181. Roll Call 14 (Jan. 22, 2009)
   Yea: 61, Nay: 36
   (D: 54-0, NV-1; R: 5-36; I: 2-0)


2. Pass $787 billion stimulus
   Approve a $787 billion plan to revive the U.S. economy.
   Senate H.R.1. Roll Call 64 (Feb. 13, 2009)
   Yea: 60, Nay: 38
   (D: 55-0, NV-1; R: 3-38; I: 2-0)


3. Repeal DC gun laws
   Repeal the District of Columbia’s restrictions on firearms and its ban on semiautomatic weapons.
   Senate S.160. Roll Call 72 (Feb. 26, 2009)
   Yea: 62, Nay: 36
   (D: 22-33, NV-1; R: 40-1; I: 0-2)


4. Confirm Sonia Sotomayor
   Confirm President Obama’s appointment of Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court.
   Senate P.N.506. Roll Call 262 ( Aug. 6, 2009.)
   Yea: 68, Nay: 31
   (D: 57-0, NV-1; R: 9-31; I: 2-0)


5. Pass health care bill
   Approve a health care overhaul, including a provision letting private firms offer insurance policies regulated by the government.
   Senate H.R.3590. Roll Call 396 (Dec. 24, 2009)
   Yea: 60, Nay: 39
   (D: 58-0; R: 0-39, NV-1; I: 2-0)


Senate Votes 2010:
1. Regulate financial services industry
   Approve new federal regulations on financial services firms.
   Senate H.R.4173. Roll Call 162 (May 20, 2010)
   Yea: 59, Nay: 39
   (D: 53-2, NV-2; R: 4-37; I: 2-0)


2. Extend Bush-era tax cuts except top 2%
   Continue the Bush-era tax cuts for everyone except the top 2% of income-earners.
   Senate H.R.4853. Roll Call 275 (Dec. 15, 2010.)
   Yea: 43Nay: 57
   (D: 42-14; R: 0-42; I: 1-1)


3. Legalize kids of illegal immigrants
   End debate on a bill to give children of illegal immigrants a path to legal status.
   Senate H.R.5281. Roll Call 278 (Dec. 18, 2010.)
   Yea: 55, Nay: 41
   (D: 50-5, NV-1; R: 3-36, NV-3; I: 2-0)


4. Ratify New START
   Ratify the New START treaty with Russia.
   Senate Treaty Doc.111-5. Roll Call 298 (Dec. 22, 2010)
   Yea: 71, Nay: 26
   (D: 56-0; R: 13-26, NV-3; I: 2-0)/li>
   
5. Confirm Elena Kagan
   Confirm Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court.
   Senate P.N.1768 Roll Call 229 (Aug. 5, 2010)
   Yea: 63, Nay: 37
   (D: 56-1; R: 5-36; I: 2-0)


6. Oppose EPA regulating greenhouse gases
   Pass a resolution opposing the EPA’s decision to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.
   S.J.R.26. Roll Call 184 (June 10, 2010)
   Yea: 47, Nay: 53
   (D: 6-51; R: 41-0; I: 0-2)


7. Repeal “Don’t ask, don’t tell”
   Lift the ban on openly gay people serving in the military.
   Senate H.R.2965. Roll Call 281 (Dec. 18, 2010.)
   Yea: 65, Nay: 31
   (D: 55-0, NV-1; R: 8-31, NV-3; I: 2-0)


Senate Votes 2007-08:
1. Raise CAFE standards
   Limit debate on an energy bill setting higher fuel standards for vehicles. Sixty votes required to end filibuster. June 21, 2007.
   Senate H.R.6. Roll Call 225 (2007)
   Yea: 62, Nay: 32


2. Expand SCHIP
   Reauthorize and expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program. August 2, 2007.
   Senate H.R.976. Roll Call 307 (2007)
   Yea: 68, Nay: 31


3. Cap greenhouse gases
   Limit debate on a bill setting up a cap and trade system to curb climate change. Sixty votes required to end filibuster. June 6, 2008.
   Senate S.3036. Roll Call 145 (2008)
   Yea: 48, Nay: 36


4. Bail out financial markets
   Agree to a $700 billion government bailout of the financial industry, and extend expiring tax provisions. October 1, 2008
   Senate H.R.1424. Roll Call 213 (2008)
   Yea: 74, Nay: 25


5. Make English official language
   Make English the official language of the United States. June 6, 2007
   Senate S.1348. Roll Call 198 (2007)
   Yea: 64, Nay: 33


6. Path to citizenship
   Limit debate on the immigration reform bill and a provision to create a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. Sixty votes required to end filibuster. June 28, 2007.
   Senate S.1639. Roll Call 235 (2007)
   Nay: 53, Yea: 46


7. Fetus is unborn child
   Define a fetus as an "unborn child" under the law. August 2, 2007.
   Senate H.R.976. Roll Call 302 (2007)
   Nay: 50, Yea: 49


8. Prosecute hate crimes
   Limit debate on a measure funding the prosecution of hate crimes. Sixty votes required to end filibuster. September 27, 2007.
   Senate H.R.1585. Roll Call 350 (2007)
   Yea: 60, Nay: 39


9. Withdraw troops 3/08
   Require the withdrawal of most U.S. troops from Iraq by March 2008. April 26, 2007.
   Senate H.R.1591. Roll Call 147 (2007)
   Yea: 51, Nay: 46


10. Iran guard is terrorist group
    Express the sense of the Senate that the Iranian revolutionary guard should be designated as a terrorist organization. September 26, 2007.
    Senate H.R.1585. Roll Call 349 (2007)
    Yea: 76, Nay: 22


11. Increase missile defense $
    Increase federal funding for missile defense programs. September 10, 2008.
    Senate S.3001. Roll Call 198 (2008)
    Nay: 57, Yea: 39


12. Overhaul FISA
    Overhaul the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and give telecommunications companies retroactive legal immunity. July 9, 2008.
    Senate H.R.6304. Roll Call 168 (2008)
    Yea: 69, Nay: 28





Election Results

Listed for each member of the House are results of the 2008 general, runoff and primary elections, as well as any special elections held since November 2006. Most-recent gubernatorial and senatorial results are presented in a like manner. Votes and percentages are included, indicating the margin of victory. Due to rounding up and rounding down, some totals may equal more or less than 100%. Candidates in primaries receiving less than 5% of the total vote were excluded. Candidates in general elections receiving less than 2% of the total vote were excluded. Election returns were collected from the individual states.

Prior winning percentage: This feature provides winning percentage of the vote in past elections. If no percentage is provided for an election year, it indicates that the member lost or did not run for reelection that year; generally this will occur where there has been a gap in service. Two elections in the same year indicate a special and a general election.

Presidential vote: Results were compiled from state and local election authorities; caucus results are not provided. The presidential vote by congressional district is estimated by Polidata, from information collected from state and local election offices. Only a handful of states provide district-level presidential vote data. By necessity, other results are aggregated from precinct-level returns. Voting data from districts with split precincts and centrally counted absentee votes thus should be considered estimates; the allocation of these unassigned votes is determined by Polidata. While estimates of votes are included in each district, the percentage values generally provide reliable information. The total of the congressional district votes may not add up to the total state vote, because some votes (overseas, military and some absentee and early votes) are not assigned to a congressional district and because county election office reports sometimes conflict with reports from state election authorities.

Campaign Finance: All data were derived from candidates’ campaign finance reports and party reports available from the Federal Election Commission. The dollar figure, in parentheses to the right of the election results, represents the candidates’ net expenditures for the period from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2008. These figures do not include corrections or amendments filed with the FEC after May 2008.




Demographics and Politics (Boxed)

Population: All population figures are from the Census Bureau’s 2005-07 American Community Survey (ACS), unless otherwise noted. Census estimates are as of July 1, 2008. The estimates are used for voting age population in the states and for the population of congressional districts.

Urban/rural population: The percentage of total population living in areas defined by the Bureau as urban or as rural. Urban/rural figures for the states are from the ACS; urban/ rural figures for congressional districts are from the 2000 census.

Native of state: People born in a state of residence as a percentage of total population.

Not a citizen: People who are foreign born and not a citizen as a percentage of the total.

Area size: Area size is in square miles, including water, and is taken from the 2000 census.

Most populous cities: City population figures are from the 2005-07 ACS where available. Where not available, the Bureau’s July 1, 2007 estimates are used.

Household income: Household income as a percentage of all households.

Home value: Refers to self-estimated market value of owner-occupied units.

Work sector: A classification of worker by economic sector. The figure is the percentage of employed persons 16 years and older. Private refers to people employed by private for-profit or not-for-profit organizations on a wage or salary basis; Government refers to federal, state and local government employees.

Unemployment: Unemployed, non-military people 16 years and older as a percentage of the labor force.

Poverty status: The percentage of people 16 years and older for whom poverty status has been determined and who fall below the poverty line, which in 2007 was defined by the federal government as a family of four living on about $21,000 or less a year.

Occupation (“collar”): The figure is the percentage of employed persons 16 years and older. White collar refers to managerial, professional, sales and administrative occupations. Blue collar refers to construction, production and transportation occupations. Khaki collar refers to active-duty military personnel. Other refers to the balance of employed people not classified as white collar, blue collar or military, such as those in the farming, fishing and forestry industries or in health care, protective service, food preparation and personal care occupations.

Race/ethnicity: As defined by the Census Bureau, race reflects an individual respondent’s perception of his or her racial identity and does not reflect any biological or anthropological definitions. The racial categories are: American-Indian or Alaska Native (designated as Native Am.); Asian; Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander (Hawaiian); black or African- American; white; two or more races (Two + races); Other non-Hispanic people (Other). Hispanic origin is defined as an ethnicity, and includes those who classified themselves in one of three specific Hispanic categories (Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican) or as of “other Spanish/Hispanic origin.” Persons of Latino or Hispanic origin may be of any race for Census purposes, but The Almanac includes only non-Hispanic blacks in the black population category and only non-Hispanic whites in the white population category, so that the percentages add to 100%. The numbers provided for each racial or ethnic group represent a percentage of all people in a state or a congressional district.

Ancestry: Ethnic origin or descent. With this category, the Census Bureau intended to provide data for groups that were not included in the Hispanic origin and race questions; thus, it does not reflect diversity within Hispanic and Asian subgroups. To arrive at the percentages for each category, the bureau used the average number of responses to estimate the percentage of the population that shares the ancestry characteristic. NOTE: The USA designation refers to “American” as a unique ethnicity if it was cited alone as a response, in the absence of any other ethnicity. Subsaharan refers to the census category of “Subsaharan African.” West Indian excludes Hispanic groups.

Language: The percentage of households speaking a certain language. The abbreviation Other Eur. refers to other Indo-European languages.

Education: H.S. grad refers to people with a high school diploma or higher and college grad refers to people with a bachelor’s degree or higher, both as a percentage of people 25 years and older.

Military veterans: People who were in the Armed Forces as a percentage of voting-age population.

Registered Voters: The number of registered voters by party, as close as possible to the November 2008 election. The individual states’ election bureaus or political parties provide these figures. Some states have no voter registration. D refers to Democrat; R refers to Republican; other refers to independent voters or those from minor parties.

Turnout: The share of the total voting age population that cast a vote for president in the 2008 election. Other measures could be used to calculate turnout, but many of these measures were not available for all of the states or all of the congressional districts. Basing calculations on voting age population and presidential vote permits comparisons across states and across districts, but it does not account for voting age persons who are not eligible to vote due to the status of their residency and citizenship, for example. Furthermore, voting age population figures for states are taken from July 1, 2008 census estimates, while voting age population figures for congressional districts are taken from the 2005-07 ACS (census estimates are not available for congressional districts). There is likely to be some overstatement of the rate by district because the turnout calculations do not reflect increases in population since the ACS.

State information: Each legislature is referred to according to its proper name, followed by a breakdown of membership by party affiliation. Partisan composition figures are drawn from the National Conference of State Legislatures and are current as of July 2008.

Cook Partisan Voting Index: Developed in 1997 by Charlie Cook, a leading national political handicapper, the partisan voting index (PVI) is designed to provide a quick, overall assessment of a state or district’s generic partisan strength. The PVI measures a state or district’s recent partisan performance at the presidential level (district value) against that of the nation as a whole (national value). For this volume, the calculations are based on an average of 2004 and 2008 presidential election data for each district as provided by the political statistical analysis firm Polidata. Both years carry equal weight. Only votes for major party nominees are considered. The national Democratic value is 51.2 (an average of John Kerry’s 48.8% share and Barack Obama’s 53.7% share) and the national Republican value is 48.8. Thus, if Kerry and Obama won an average of 56.2% of the two-party vote in a given district, the district’s PVI would be D+5, because it voted five percentage points more Democratic than the national average. A PVI value of “even” indicates an evenly balanced district.




Abbreviations

ACLU: American Civil Liberties Union
ACU: American Conservative Union
ADA: Americans for Democratic Action
AFDC: Aid to Families with Dependent Children
AFL-CIO: American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
AFS: American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
AID: Agency for International Development
AMI: American Independent (CA)
ANWR: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
BL: Better Life Party
C: Conservative Party (NY)
CAFE: Corporate Average Fuel Economy
CAFTA: Central America Free Trade Agreement
CFL: Connecticut for Lieberman
CHOB: Cannon House Office Building
CIA: Central Intelligence Agency
CNP: Constitution Party
COC: Chamber of Commerce of the United States
COLA: Cost of Living Adjustment
CPF: Constitution Party of Florida
DCCC: Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
DFL: Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party (MN)
DLC: Democratic Leadership Council
DNC: Democratic National Committee
DSCC: Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
DSOB: Dirksen Senate Office Building
EMILY: EMILY’s List (Early Money is Like Yeast)
ERISA: Employee Retirement Income Security Act
FEC: Federal Election Commission
FERC: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Green: Green Party
H: Capitol Building Room-House side
HSOB: Hart Senate Office Building
I: Independent
IAP: Independent American Party (NV)
IC: Independent Conservative
ID: Independent Democrat
IG: Independent Green
IMC: Independent Maine Course
Ind: Independence Party
IVP: Independent Voters Party
L: Liberal Party
LCV: League of Conservation Voters
LHOB: Longworth House Office Building
Lib: Libertarian Party
Mod: Moderate Party
NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement
NARAL: NARAL Pro-Choice America
NFIB: National Federation of Independent Business
NL: Natural Law Party
NP: Non-Partisan
NPA: No Party Affiliation
NRCC: National Republican Congressional Committee
NRSC: National Republican Senatorial Committee
NSA: National Security Agency
NTU: National Taxpayers Union
PDP: Popular Democratic Party (PR)
PF: Peace and Freedom Party
PJ: Peace and Justice Party (NY)
POP: Populist Party
PRG: Progressive Party
Ref: Reform Party
RHOB: Rayburn House Office Building
RMM: Ranking Minority Member
RNC: Republican National Committee
RSOB: Russell Senate Office Building
RTL: Right-to-Life Party
S: Capitol Building Room, Senate side
SOC: Socialist Party
SW: Socialist Workers Party
UAW: United Auto Workers
WF: Working Families
WI: Write In