New DDA Scorecard Finds Sharp Partisan Divide on Anti-Corruption and Democracy Measures 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Democracy Defenders Action today launched the Stop Corruption Now Scorecard, a resource for voters to track the positions and votes their members of Congress have taken on key anti-corruption and democracy-related measures. The scorecard specifically tracks House and Senate members’ positions on public corruption, preserving the rule of law, and protecting free and fair elections. It found a stark divide among members of Congress on key anti-corruption and pro-democracy measures considered during the 119th Congress. 

The Stop Corruption Now Scorecard scores members based on their votes and cosponsorships during the 119th Congress on key pieces of legislation. The scorecard reports that 34 senators and 90 House members received perfect scores of ten points, while 50 senators and 174 House members received scores of two or lower. 

“Over the past two years, Congress has overwhelmingly failed in its constitutional duties as a coequal branch of government. The majority has held no oversight hearings to address President Trump’s myriad conflicts of interest while relentlessly pursuing an agenda that enriches the ultra-wealthy, undermines the rule of law and restricts access to voting,” said Virginia Canter, chief counsel and director of ethics and anti-corruption at Democracy Defenders Action. “This scorecard is a critical tool for voters in assessing their members of Congress’ commitment on key anti-corruption and pro-democracy issues.” 

Even with a unified government, this Congress has been one of the least productive in recent history. Just 2% of bills in the 119th Congress have become law, among the lowest total for any Congress in the last 50 years. Because the House and Senate held a limited number of votes on anti-corruption and democracy-related legislation during the 119th Congress, the scorecard also considers cosponsorship of selected legislation as a measure of members’ records on those issues. 

“The 120th Congress must reassert its authority as a coequal branch of government and serve as a check on President Trump’s vast conflicts of interest and abuses of power by adopting an anti-corruption and pro-democracy platform before it’s too late,” said Canter. 

“Donald Trump and his administration are no longer trying to hide their brazen corruption, but we must never normalize it,” said Sen. Alex Padilla. “We must continue fighting to expose their corruption and hold this administration accountable so that our democracy works for the American people — from empowering Americans to speak up and vote, to exercising Congress’ checks on the executive branch.”

“As co-chair of the House Anti-Corruption and Democracy Reform Task Force, I’ve seen firsthand the work Democracy Defenders Action is doing to protect the rule of law and defend free and fair elections — whether that’s in the courts, in Congress, or in the court of public opinion. Their ‘Stop Corruption Now’ scorecard gives voters an important tool to see which elected officials are actually standing up for everyday Americans, and I’m proud to receive a perfect score,” said Rep. Nikema Williams.

Among the legislation included in the scorecard are the Restore Trust in Government Act, the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, the GENIUS Act and the DISCLOSE Act. The scorecard also tracks legislation addressing congressional stock trading, Supreme Court ethics, presidential accountability, money in politics and D.C. statehood. 

Some highlights of this year’s scorecard include: 

• 34 senators and 90 House members received perfect scores.
• The entire congressional delegations from New Mexico and Vermont received perfect scores.
• Both senators from California, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont received perfect scores.
• California had more members with perfect scores than any other state.
• 50 senators and 174 House members received scores of two or lower.
• Each Senate Democrat received a score of eight or above; no Senate Republican received a score above two.

The full scorecard is available here.

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Democracy Defenders Action brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state, and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.

For media inquiries, contact, press@democracydefenders.org.