NAME______

DATE______BLOCK______

GOVERNMENT: your congressional representative

  1. Log onto “Project Vote Smart” at
  2. Under “Find Your Representative” enter your zip code.
  3. When the next page uploads, click, “Current Officials”.
  4. Select one of the officials under “Congressional”.
  5. On the right hand side of the page, click “Interest Group Ratings”.
  6. Here you have the opportunity to go directly to web sites of interest groups concerned with your areas of interest. Pick one issue you feel strongly about (either in a positive or negative way. The students should then collect evidence of their representatives’ position on the issue and record it.

How to Interpret Interest Group Evaluations:
Project Vote Smart collects performance evaluations from special interest groups who provide them, regardless of issue or bias. Keep in mind that ratings done by special interest groups are biased. They do not represent a non-partisan stance. In addition, some groups select votes that tend to favor members of one political party over another, rather than choosing votes based solely on issues concerns. Nevertheless, they can be invaluable in showing where an incumbent has stood on a series of votes in the past one or two years, especially when ratings by groups on all sides of an issue are compared. Website links, if available, and descriptions of the organizations offering performance evaluations are accessible by clicking on the name of the group.

Most performance evaluations are displayed in a percentage format. However, some organizations present their ratings in the form of a letter grade or endorsement based on voting records, interviews, survey results and/or sources of campaign funding. For consistency, Project Vote Smart converts all scores into a percentage when possible.

CONGRESSIONAL OFFICIAL ______

ISSUE SELECTED______

INTEREST GROUP SELECTED______

OFFICIAL’S ACTION______

______

PERCENTAGE RATING OF OFFICIAL BY INTEREST GROUP______

WHAT DOES THIS RATING MEAN______

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF INTEREST GROUP (Click on interest group)______

______

______

AFTER VISITING THE INTEREST GROUP’S WEBSITE, DO YOU AGREE WITH THE MISSION OF THE INTEREST GROUP? WHY OR WHY NOT? ______

______

______

______

WHAT DOES THE RATING AND ACTION TELL YOU ABOUT THE OFFICIAL AND HIS STANCE ON THIS ISSUE OF INTEREST?

ISSUE SELECTED______

INTEREST GROUP SELECTED______

OFFICIAL’S ACTION______

______

PERCENTAGE RATING OF OFFICIAL BY INTEREST GROUP______

WHAT DOES THIS RATING MEAN______

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF INTEREST GROUP (Click on interest group)______

______

______

AFTER VISITING THE INTEREST GROUP’S WEBSITE, DO YOU AGREE WITH THE MISSION OF THE INTEREST GROUP? WHY OR WHY NOT? ______

______

______

______

WHAT DOES THE RATING AND ACTION TELL YOU ABOUT THE OFFICIAL AND HIS STANCE ON THIS ISSUE OF INTEREST?