# JustMeasure doctrine and method The sections below are the Doctrine page and the How page, as Markdown, generated from the same sources as those pages. # The Scriptural and Reformed Basis for JustMeasure JustMeasure is not built on generic values language. It uses Scripture as final authority, interpreted through a Reformed understanding of moral law, civil magistracy, and general equity. **Rankings updated October 26, 2026, 11:44 AM ET · Votes through September 30, 2026** Exported candidates: 719 | Filings on file, by office: H: 5838 | P: 1467 | S: 1567. These counts include every filing for that office, so they are larger than the ranked list. One person can have more than one filing. Non-voting delegates are left out. [House records](https://justmeasure.org/?office=H) [Senate records](https://justmeasure.org/?office=S) [Presidential filings](https://justmeasure.org/?office=P) [Issue index](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/) [Theology notes](https://justmeasure.org/theology/) ## How the Standard Is Derived ### Scripture Holy Scripture is the final authority for moral judgment, including public justice and civil rule. ### Reformed Method The enduring moral law of God is applied to civil life through general equity, not by flattening every modern question into a proof-text. ### Tiered Judgment Direct moral evil weighs more heavily than prudential disagreement. Disqualifying evil is not canceled by secondary strengths. ### Evidence Recorded roll-call votes, plus bill sponsorship and cosponsorship, are judged as public deeds under God's law. Campaign money, lobbying, and affiliations are not used. Per-vote Scripture pills in the app link into doctrine detail pages and the issue reference index below, so each score event can be traced back to verses, principle, and rationale. ## How Votes Become Scores ### The lane profile Labels use a lane profile. They are not a running total of every vote. Tier 2 penalties are grouped into seven lanes: life, children, honest money, war and peace, justice and truth, liberty and conscience, and corruption and stewardship. On each scored bill, exposure in a lane is the heaviest Tier 2 penalty that bill carried in that lane. Residual is the penalty that member actually drew there. A lane's rate is residual divided by exposure. The lane is worth that rate times the full authored weight of the heaviest yea or nay penalty rule that fired in that lane in the member's chamber. The Tier 2 scale is the sum of those lane points. Repeating the same compromise inside one lane does not pile the weights up. Compromise across several lanes still does. A lane with fewer than 3 distinct scored roll calls counts at n/3 (Deuteronomy 19:15). A bundled bill, and a bill with a reviewer-verified overreach provision, counts its Tier 2 residual at half weight. A reviewed cap at Tier 2 also counts at half weight, except H.R. 498 and H.R. 3492, which count at full tier-2 weight. Their exposure and their points are not halved, for any member. Those halves are not stacked, so the factor does not fall below one half. An ordinary score event is still the tag's base weight times the vote-type multiplier in the table below. A Tier 1 event stores the lane weight of 100. It is not multiplied. Positive fitness orders people who already share a label. It does not set the label. ### Vote Type Multipliers A final passage vote carries full weight. Procedural votes that only indirectly affect a bill carry less. Motions to table, to discharge, and to concur are read by polarity in both directions. A concur vote on a debt-limit or must-pay bill is not scored as a spending yea. Nominations are omitted here because they are not graded. | Vote Type | Multiplier | | --- | --- | | final passage | 1.0x | | amendment | 0.8x | | recommit | 0.5x | | discharge | 0.5x | | cloture | 0.3x | | procedural | 0.1x | ### Status Thresholds The lane-profile score, the Tier 1 rule, and the vote minimum set the label. Positive fitness does not. | Status | Rule | | --- | --- | | Disqualifying vote on record | At least one Tier 1 vote. No bill becomes Tier 1 without a human reading of its operative text. A pending record keeps current scoring until a decision is recorded. H.R. 498 and H.R. 3492 are capped at tier 2 at full tier-2 weight. The same rule applies to every member. A yea for a non-bundled bill tagged abortion, child sexual corruption, bloodguilt, or open corruption, on final passage or an amendment at full weight (not a fallback reading of the vote), or on cloture, a motion to proceed, or discharge when the direction is known. Or a nay on cloture, the motion to proceed, or final passage of a clean life or child-protection bill, when that member has no yea on final passage or an amendment of the same bill. A yea on cloture is not that support. A later substantive yea keeps a cloture nay at Tier 2. A passage nay that a later yea replaces is dropped. Clean means the known content includes defends life or defends children and no unrelated major tag, except family policy (always a companion) and abuse accountability (a companion only together with defends children). Unknown content is not clean. A reviewer-verified overreach provision, or a reviewed Tier 2 cap, blocks Tier 1. Bundled bills never produce Tier 1. Sponsoring such a bill can disqualify. Cosponsoring scores at half weight and is not Tier 1 by itself. The event stores 100. | | Grave pattern on record | No Tier 1 vote, and the lane-profile score is at least 45. Debt and war-funding votes can contribute together with other marks. They never produce this label by themselves. | | Compromises on record | No Tier 1 vote, and the lane-profile score is at least 20 and below 45. Exactly 20 is this label. | | Qualified on the 118th–119th Congress record | No Tier 1 vote, the lane-profile score is below 20, and the vote count meets the office minimum. Every scored vote counts toward that minimum, good or bad, so a negative event still counts and a clean record above the office minimum can pass. This is a screen, not proof of fitness. The public label is Qualified on the 118th–119th Congress record. A Qualified label also claims a recorded yea or nay on a key life or child-protection vehicle. A sponsor or cosponsor of a reviewed abortion or minors-transition measure cannot receive it. In the prior Congress, only an operative class-A bill caps the label. Prior-Congress resolutions are notes and do not cap. A recent deliberate act of the office stays on the record for one full Congress after. The sponsorship score does not change, and the label is Compromises on record. A past yea to expand abortion also caps that label and does not disqualify. That yea changes the score at a disclosed weight. Sponsorship of a clean Tier 1 bill can still disqualify. | | Not yet tested on life and child-protection votes | The score would be Qualified, and it is unchanged, but the member has no recorded yea or nay on a key life or child-protection vehicle. A Qualified label claims a tested record on the gravest votes. Members seated after those votes, or who never cast one, show their score but are not called Qualified until tested. | | Too few scored votes | No scored evidence, no roll-call votes, unresolved vote context, a suppressed duplicate row, or fewer votes than the office minimum. The office minimum is the lower of 100 and half a typical full record for that office, and it is never below 8. A typical full record is the loaded-vote count at the 75th percentile of members of that office who have at least one vote. A Tier 1 vote still outranks a thin record. | ### Evil Bill Tags Voting **yea** on a bill with these tags generates a penalty. Voting **nay** generates a positive credit. | Tag | Tier | Yea Penalty | Nay Credit | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | abortion | **Disqualifier** | 100 | +15 | | abuse coverup | Tier 2 | 25 | +12 | | appropriations | Tier 2 | 3 | +2 | | bloodguilt | **Disqualifier** | 100 | +15 | | child sexual corruption | **Disqualifier** | 100 | +15 | | debasement | Tier 2 | 25 | - | | debt spending | Tier 2 | 25 | +8 | | family policy | Tier 2 | 15 | - | | foreign policy | Tier 2 | 12 | +5 | | omnibus | Tier 2 | 15 | +8 | | open corruption | **Disqualifier** | 100 | +15 | | repudiation | Tier 2 | 25 | - | | surveillance | Tier 2 | 15 | +8 | | unauthorized hostilities | Tier 2 | 25 | - | | unjust war | Tier 2 | 25 | - | | war funding | Tier 2 | 25 | +8 | ### Good Bill Tags Voting **yea** on a bill with these tags generates a positive credit. Voting **nay** generates a penalty. | Tag | Yea Credit | Nay Penalty | | --- | --- | --- | | abuse accountability | +12 | 25 | | de escalation | +12 | - | | defends children | +15 | 50 | | defends life | +15 | 50 | | due process | +8 | 8 | | religious liberty | +8 | 8 | | speech protection | +8 | 8 | | whistleblower protection | +8 | 8 | ### Example A senator votes **yea** on final passage of a non-bundled bill tagged `abortion`, after a human reading of the operative text. The Tier 1 event stores **100**. The final-passage multiplier is not applied. The label is Disqualifying vote on record. A representative votes **nay** on cloture for a bill tagged `debt_spending`. The credit is 8 × 0.3 = 2.4, stored as **2** points of positive fitness. The same nay can still offset Tier 2 residual in that lane when the vote was contested. That offset uses the vote margin only. The lane then counts at half weight. ### Absences Missing the vote, or voting present, on final passage of a bill that defends innocent life or protects children counts 30. The same absence on a bill that exposes abuse counts 15. The penalty is Tier 2, not Tier 1 (James 4:17). It applies only when showing up to vote yea was the moral obligation, and not on amendments or procedural motions. ### Tested record A Qualified label claims a tested record on the gravest votes. Members seated after those votes, or who never cast one, show their score but are not called Qualified until tested. ### Sponsorship cap Sponsorship cap. A member who sponsors or cosponsors a measure on our reviewed list cannot be labeled Qualified. In the current Congress the list includes the reviewed bills and resolutions. In the prior Congress, only an operative class-A bill caps the label. Prior-Congress resolutions are notes and do not cap. The window is the current and prior Congress, about four years, because a recent deliberate act of the office stays on the record for one full Congress after. The list covers measures whose text expands access to, funding for, or legal protection of abortion, or of gender-transition interventions for minors. The member's score does not change; the highest label available is Compromised. Each listed measure was read and signed off by a named reviewer. Withdrawn cosponsorships do not count. We apply this because Scripture treats framing unjust law as the lawmaker's own act (Isa 10:1; Ps 94:20), and the sixth commandment requires protecting the innocent (Exod 20:13; Westminster Larger Catechism 135-136). For measures about gender-transition interventions for minors, the same commandment forbids wounding the body (Westminster Larger Catechism 136), and Genesis 1:27 records that male and female he created them. Measures on which faithful Christians disagree (for example IVF, contraception and the Equal Rights Amendment) are not on the list unless a separate, published theology ruling places them there. This is a lesser label cap for measures that are not Tier 1. Sponsorship of a clean Tier 1 bill can still disqualify under the existing rule. A disqualifying vote on record stays that label. An existing Compromises on record, Grave pattern on record, or Too few scored votes band is unchanged. The cap applies only to a record that would otherwise be Qualified on the 118th–119th Congress record, and it is applied before the tested-record gate. Sponsoring a protective bill does not earn credit. Protecting life is the baseline duty of the office, and we measure it through recorded votes, which cost more than a cosponsorship. This note is shown for completeness. It is not scored. A sponsorship in the 117th Congress or earlier stays a note. Prior-Congress resolutions are notes and do not cap. Operative class-A bills in the current and prior Congress can cap the label. The label window is the current and prior Congress, about four years. In practice this cap falls on one side. Every measure on the current list was introduced by members of the minority party. Many are messaging bills the majority will not bring to a vote, so a cosponsorship is often the only public record of the member's position. We apply the cap because the act itself is what we measure, not because of who performs it. We also checked the opposite risk: counting contested measures (IVF, contraception, the ERA) would fall mostly on majority-party members, and we excluded them for the same reason, pending a published theology ruling. Adam Malin signed these eleven measures on 2026-10-22: H.Con.Res. 65, H.R. 12, H.R. 9448, H.R. 10600, H.Res. 238, and H.Res. 1428 of the 119th Congress, and H.R. 12, H.R. 782, H.R. 1723, H.R. 2573, and S. 317 of the 118th Congress. Held entries stay pending and do not cap a label. ### Past floor votes Past floor votes on life and on children count at a disclosed prudential weight. A vote in the prior Congress counts at 0.5. A vote two Congresses back counts at 0.25. Nothing older is scored. The weight counts toward the lane minimum: the votes add their weights, not one full vote each. An absence, or a present, on a bill that defends life or children still counts, at that same reduced weight. An absence on a bill that expands abortion does not. Scripture gives no half-life for sin. Recent conduct is better evidence of how a member uses the office now. The numbers 0.5 and 0.25, and the two-Congress limit, are chosen numbers, open to revision. Decay changes the score only. Whether a cap applies does not decay. A yea to expand abortion in that window caps the label at Compromises on record and does not disqualify. The cap reaches only a record that would otherwise be Qualified on the 118th–119th Congress record. It is applied with the sponsorship cap, before the tested-record gate. S. 4554 is a sense of Congress. It is scored at the 0.5 factor for a non-operative measure, not at a full harm exposure of 100, and a yea still caps the label. H.R. 8297 is scored as a cap only. It is Tier 1 eligible, pending human text review and Adam sign-off, and it is not applied as Tier 1. A past version of a capped bill keeps the 0.5 weight. A nay on a past protection bill is scored at the decayed weight. It does not disqualify, and it is not this cap. The Respect for Marriage Act yea is tier 2 under family harm, not under children. The lane weight is 50, the same tier-2 weight as life and children, and the 117th Congress vote counts at 0.25 toward the lane minimum. The act contradicts the creation ordinance of marriage (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6; Westminster Confession 24.1). Some Christians backed its religious-liberty amendment, and its practical effect largely codified Obergefell. Neither changes what the law declares marriage to be. The Equality Act is held and is not scored. H.R. 5, the Parents Bill of Rights, is family and prudential. The end is commanded (Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Ephesians 6:4; Westminster Larger Catechism 129) and the means are federal mandates on local schools. It is shown with the 0.5 factor. A nay adds no compromise points and does not cost Qualified. Reserve-fund amendments bind nothing. They are notes, not scores. Endorsing the taking of innocent life is an act against the commandment, while declining a non-binding reserve fund is not. Contraception, IVF, and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act stay excluded. Past penalties mirror whichever party set each Congress's agenda. The agenda decides which questions reach a roll call. We do not tune these rules to equalize outcomes. ### Unsettled summaries Which bills reach a roll call is partly chance. Within each chamber, the scored bills of each lane are resampled 200 times with replacement (seed 42). Agreement is the share of those resamples in which the member stays in the same band. The note “Unsettled: this summary changes when we re-sample which bills are scored” appears when agreement is below 90 percent, in muted type. Grave pattern on record, Compromises on record, and Qualified receive this check. A Tier 1 vote is a recorded fact and is never marked unsettled. ### Debt, spending, and war Debt, spending and war-funding votes count as prudential compromises at reduced weight. By themselves they can produce 'Compromises on record' but never 'Grave pattern on record.' They count at full weight when the bill or record shows a named injustice: debasing money, defaulting on debts already owed, or funding unauthorized or documented unjust war (Leviticus 19:35-36; Psalm 37:21; Westminster Confession 23.2; Habakkuk 2:12). We cap these lanes because Scripture governs these areas without settling most individual votes, and the gravest labels must rest on what Scripture plainly forbids. The national debt is a real burden passed to children who cannot consent to it. A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children (Proverbs 13:22). The eighth commandment requires frugality, and the Westminster Larger Catechism lists it among the duties of that commandment (WLC 141). These votes still count. They count at reduced weight. Together with other marks they can add up to Grave pattern on record. They never produce that label by themselves. The same rule applies to every member. Omnibus bills, appropriations, and surveillance votes stay at full weight. The reduced weight is the debt and war-funding lanes. A named-injustice tag is not applied to any bill in this record until a human review cites the provision. Until then those votes stay at the reduced weight. The same weight applies to every member. ### Why a cloture nay on a clean protection bill counts In the Senate most bills cannot come to a vote on their merits unless sixty senators agree to end debate. When cloture fails, the bill stops. On a bill that does one thing, a nay on cloture is not a scheduling preference. It is the vote that decides whether the protection becomes law. On S. 6, the Born-Alive bill, cloture failed 52-47 on January 22, 2025, and the bill went no further. We treat such a nay as opposing the protection only when three things are true: the bill is clean; the bill adds an enforceable duty, penalty, or remedy beyond existing law; and the member voted for no clean bill that carries the same protection. Scripture does not let us excuse a refusal by its form: “If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it?” (Proverbs 24:11-12). 1 U.S.C. 8 imposes no duty of care and no penalty. A yea for any clean bill carrying the same protection keeps a nay at the lower tier. The ninth commandment forbids misconstructing intentions (Westminster Larger Catechism 145). We grade the vote, not the heart. The same rule applies to every member. H.R. 498 is capped at tier 2 so it can never be a Tier 1 or disqualifying event, and it counts at full tier-2 weight. Its exposure and its points are not halved, for any member. It stays a matched vehicle with H.R. 3492. H.R. 3492 has no Tier 1 sign-off. Adam Malin, 2026-10-21: it is mixed. The "otherwise conveying ... medications" clause in (h)(2), combined with aiding-and-abetting law, could reach parents, and the text does not exclude that, so a good-faith Christian could vote nay over that means without opposing the protection. H.R. 3492 is capped at tier 2 on the same terms: it can never be a Tier 1 or disqualifying event, it counts at full tier-2 weight, and its exposure and its points are not halved, for any member. It stays a matched vehicle with H.R. 498. ### Votes against one's own caucus “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil” (Exodus 23:2) is why a costly vote against one's own caucus is worth noticing. A card may say “Voted against own caucus on N of M scored votes.” The count uses a cohort of at least 10. It is the same descriptive table for every member. It is not a score input, and it does not withhold credits. The same rule applies to every member. ### Not covered yet Challengers and newcomers are not named and are not scored. Presidents, governors, and other executives are not graded from this legislative record. Presidential filings can appear in the office counts, and in this snapshot those rows are Too few scored votes. State legislators are not covered. Committee votes are not covered. Presidential nominations are not graded. ### Models and sources Bill summaries and tags are drafted by Claude Haiku 5.5 (`anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5`), prompt `bill-enrichment-v6.1`, temperature 0.1. The model sees the bill id, title, summary, policy area, latest action, chamber, and source URL, plus tags already on the bill. It does not see the sponsor or the sponsor's party. Appropriations, war funding, omnibus bills, a family-policy tag paired with life or child protection, recommit motions, continuing appropriations, and titles that say “for other purposes” beside appropriations or an authorization go to Claude Sonnet 5.5 (`anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.5`). So do mixed or unclear readings, a bill marked needs review, and any restraint-lane command the first model flags. A bill marked needs review does not score until a person reviews it. On the restraint lane, a low-confidence result does not score. An ordinary tag is not held back only because confidence is low. The moral rules are human-written. Verses on ordinary tags are human-authored. Restraint citations have to be on a fixed list. Roll calls: [House Clerk EVS](https://clerk.house.gov/evs/) and [Senate LIS](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/). Bills and CRS summaries: [Congress.gov API](https://api.congress.gov/v3). Names and offices: [FEC bulk files](https://www.fec.gov/files/bulk-downloads/). Sitting members: [House Clerk member list](https://clerk.house.gov/member_info/olm-119.pdf) and the [Senate contact list](https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.xml). ZIP districts: [Census ZCTA to congressional district](https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/cd-sld/tab20_cd11920_zcta520_natl.txt). A district is kept when it holds at least 5 percent of the ZIP code's land. A ZIP that crosses a state line uses the state with the most land. ## Hard Disqualifiers ### Sanctity of Innocent Life Support for abortion is treated as disqualifying because Scripture forbids murder and grounds human dignity in the image of God. **Scripture:** [Genesis 1:27](https://justmeasure.org/theology/genesis-1-27--abortion/index.html), [Genesis 9:6](https://justmeasure.org/theology/genesis-9-6--abortion/index.html), [Exodus 20:13](https://justmeasure.org/theology/exodus-20-13--abortion/index.html), [Psalm 139:13-16](https://justmeasure.org/theology/psalm-139-13-16--abortion/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** The sixth commandment protects innocent life. Civil rulers may not treat the unborn as disposable without incurring bloodguilt. ### Creation Order and Protection of Children Policies that corrupt or mutilate children, or dissolve created sexual order, are treated as direct moral rebellion rather than ordinary policy disagreement. **Scripture:** [Genesis 1:27](https://justmeasure.org/theology/genesis-1-27--child-sexual-corruption/index.html), [Genesis 2:24](https://justmeasure.org/theology/genesis-2-24--child-sexual-corruption/index.html), [Deuteronomy 22:5](https://justmeasure.org/theology/deuteronomy-22-5--child-sexual-corruption/index.html), [Matthew 19:4-6](https://justmeasure.org/theology/matthew-19-4-6--child-sexual-corruption/index.html), [Matthew 18:6](https://justmeasure.org/theology/matthew-18-6--child-sexual-corruption/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** God created man and woman with moral significance. Civil rule that institutionalizes confusion or harm against children is not neutral. ### Open Corruption A vote for legislation that enables or shields bribery, theft from public office, or deliberate public corruption is a Tier 1 failure. **Scripture:** [Exodus 23:8](https://justmeasure.org/theology/exodus-23-8--open-corruption/index.html), [Deuteronomy 16:19](https://justmeasure.org/theology/deuteronomy-16-19--open-corruption/index.html), [Proverbs 15:27](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-15-27--open-corruption/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Justice, honest judgment, and the prohibition of theft and bribery govern the magistrate. ### Clean Protection of Life and Children A nay on cloture, the motion to proceed, or final passage of a clean bill that defends innocent life or protects children is a Tier 1 failure, when that member cast no substantive yea for the same bill. A bundled bill, a reviewer-verified overreach provision, unknown content, or a reviewed Tier 2 cap keeps the nay a Tier 2 compromise. The failure counts in full and is not reduced by the vote-type multiplier. **Scripture:** [Proverbs 24:11-12](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/defends-life/index.html), [Matthew 18:5-6](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/defends-life/index.html), [James 4:17](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/defends-life/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Scripture commands rescue of those led away to death and forbids causing children to stumble. Blocking a clean bill whose moral lane is that rescue is refusal to do the known good. A yea on cloture is not substantive support for the bill. ### Bloodguilt and Unjust Violence Material support for unjust killing, immoral war, or state violence against innocents is treated as a grave moral offense. **Scripture:** [Psalm 106:37-40](https://justmeasure.org/theology/psalm-106-37-40--bloodguilt/index.html), [Isaiah 1:15-17](https://justmeasure.org/theology/isaiah-1-15-17--bloodguilt/index.html), [Micah 6:8](https://justmeasure.org/theology/micah-6-8--bloodguilt/index.html), [Matthew 5:9](https://justmeasure.org/theology/matthew-5-9--bloodguilt/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Civil authority must punish evil and protect the innocent, not launder bloodguilt through procedure or distance. ## Grave Compromise and General Equity ### Omnibus Complicity A politician is not excused because evil was bundled into a larger bill. Procedural packaging does not erase moral agency. **Scripture:** [Isaiah 10:1-2](https://justmeasure.org/theology/isaiah-10-1-2--omnibus-complicity/index.html), [Proverbs 17:15](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-17-15--omnibus-complicity/index.html), [James 4:17](https://justmeasure.org/theology/james-4-17--omnibus-complicity/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** General equity requires judging not only explicit acts but also material cooperation with unjust law and unjust spending. ### Debt, Inflation, and False Measure Public debt expansion, inflationary plunder, and monetary debasement are treated as moral concerns, not merely technical economics. These judgments come from votes on bills, not from campaign receipts. **Scripture:** [Leviticus 19:35-36](https://justmeasure.org/theology/leviticus-19-35-36--monetary-injustice/index.html), [Proverbs 11:1](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-11-1--monetary-injustice/index.html), [Proverbs 20:10](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-20-10--monetary-injustice/index.html), [Habakkuk 2:6-8](https://justmeasure.org/theology/habakkuk-2-6-8--monetary-injustice/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** False weights and measures condemn dishonest systems that quietly transfer wealth, burden households, and plunder future generations. ### Absences Missing a recorded vote that defends innocent life or protects children counts as a Tier 2 compromise of 30. Missing a vote to expose abuse counts 15. An absence is not a Tier 1 failure. **Scripture:** [James 4:17](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/abortion/index.html), [Proverbs 24:11-12](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/abortion/index.html), [Matthew 18:5-6](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/abortion/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin (James 4:17). ## Restraint of civil authority (notes only for now) ### Restraint of civil authority God ordained the magistrate and armed him with the sword (Westminster Confession of Faith 23.1). The power God has ordained and the liberty Christ has purchased are meant mutually to uphold and preserve one another (Westminster Confession of Faith 20.4). When a bill creates, expands, narrows, or removes a coercive power (to search, detain, prosecute, punish, tax or take property, or compel under penalty), both sides are tested the same way: the bill as enacted (a yea) and current law (a nay). Current law can fail too. Failing to punish evil or protect the innocent is also injustice. A good aim does not justify an unjust means (Romans 3:8). Every reason is marked either Scripture command or Prudential judgment. Only a Scripture command can cost points. The fit test is always a prudential judgment and never outweighs a clear command. Both models must independently find the same failed command on the same side, every citation must be on a fixed list, and any claim about current law is checked. A low-confidence result on this lane does not score. Prudential judgments are recorded and carry no points. The lane never creates, offsets, or blocks a Tier 1 disqualification. If a penalty is stored, the lane weight is 15 and a credit is 8. On a bill this lane scores, the separate surveillance and due-process tags do not also score, so nothing is counted twice (Deuteronomy 25:13-16). Current status: all 417 eligible bills have been tagged and reviewed. No bill met the bar for a penalty, so the lane has changed no score. Showing these notes on bill pages is planned. 1. Legitimate purpose (Romans 13:3-4). 2. Justice to the individual, including protection from false accusation (Deuteronomy 19:15-18; Proverbs 18:17; Westminster Larger Catechism 144-145). 3. Proportion (Deuteronomy 25:1-3). 4. Fit of the power to the wrong. This test is always a prudential judgment and never outweighs a clear command. 5. Accountability (Deuteronomy 17:18-20; 1 Samuel 12:3-5). **Scripture:** [Romans 13:3-4](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Proverbs 17:15](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Ecclesiastes 8:11](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Proverbs 24:24-25](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Romans 3:8](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Deuteronomy 25:13-16](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Westminster Confession of Faith 20.4 and 23.1. The scorer recomputes the verdict from the failed-test list. It does not take a model's own verdict on trust. ## Liberty, privacy and due process (partly scored) ### What scores now Speech protection, religious liberty, and due process score now: a yea is a credit of 8, and a nay is a Tier 2 penalty of 8. Surveillance scores now: a yea is a Tier 2 penalty of 15, and a nay is a credit of 8. On a bill the restraint lane scores, surveillance and due process are set aside so the same power is not counted twice. Proportionate punishment, self-defense and arms, delegated authority, and right to repair are doctrine only. They do not score. **Scripture:** Acts 5:29, Deuteronomy 16:18-20, Romans 13:1-4 **Reformed rationale:** These weights are the authored rules. They are not a separate formula. ### Compelled Evil and Truthful Witness Doctrine surface, not yet scored. A ruler who compels participation in evil or punishes faithful Christian witness violates both truth and justice. No scoring rule enforces this card. Speech protection, religious liberty, and due process are the scored parts of this concern. **Scripture:** [Exodus 20:16](https://justmeasure.org/theology/exodus-20-16--liberty-of-conscience-and-speech/index.html), [Daniel 3:16-18](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/liberty-of-conscience-and-speech/index.html), [Acts 5:29](https://justmeasure.org/theology/acts-5-29--liberty-of-conscience-and-speech/index.html), [Romans 13:3-4](https://justmeasure.org/theology/romans-13-3-4--liberty-of-conscience-and-speech/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** The magistrate is a minister of justice, not a lord over conscience who may command falsehood or evil participation. ### Liberty of Conscience and Lawful Speech This doctrine surface treats religious liberty, lawful speech, assembly, petition, compelled speech, and related censorship issues as Scripture-first civil concerns rather than merely constitutional slogans. **Scripture:** [Acts 4:19-20](https://justmeasure.org/theology/acts-4-19-20--liberty-of-conscience-and-speech/index.html), [Acts 5:29](https://justmeasure.org/theology/acts-5-29--liberty-of-conscience-and-speech/index.html), [Proverbs 31:8-9](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-31-8-9--liberty-of-conscience-and-speech/index.html) ### Household Privacy and Property Boundaries Search and seizure, domestic surveillance, home-entry powers, and unjust commandeering of household life belong under the biblical protection of the house and lawful property, not arbitrary state intrusion. **Scripture:** [Deuteronomy 24:10-11](https://justmeasure.org/theology/deuteronomy-24-10-11--household-privacy-and-property/index.html), [Exodus 20:15-17](https://justmeasure.org/theology/exodus-20-15-17--household-privacy-and-property/index.html), [1 Samuel 8:11-17](https://justmeasure.org/theology/1-samuel-8-11-17--household-privacy-and-property/index.html) ### Due Process and Just Procedure Fair hearing, real evidence, measured judgment, and resistance to corrupt process are among the strongest biblical overlaps with modern civil procedure. **Scripture:** [Deuteronomy 19:15](https://justmeasure.org/theology/deuteronomy-19-15--due-process-and-just-procedure/index.html), [Deuteronomy 25:1-3](https://justmeasure.org/theology/deuteronomy-25-1-3--due-process-and-just-procedure/index.html), [Acts 25:16](https://justmeasure.org/theology/acts-25-16--due-process-and-just-procedure/index.html), [Proverbs 18:17](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-18-17--due-process-and-just-procedure/index.html), [1 Kings 21](https://justmeasure.org/theology/1-kings-21--due-process-and-just-procedure/index.html) ### Additional Prudential Surfaces Proportionate punishment, lawful self-defense and arms, limited delegated authority, and right to repair are doctrine only. They do not score. They remain implications of stewardship, meaningful ownership, honest commerce, and lawful repair work. Scripture and general equity stay primary. **Scripture:** [Deuteronomy 25:1-3](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/limited-and-delegated-authority/index.html); [Romans 13:4](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/limited-and-delegated-authority/index.html); [Luke 22:36](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/limited-and-delegated-authority/index.html); [Romans 13:1-4](https://justmeasure.org/theology/romans-13-1-4--limited-and-delegated-authority/index.html); [Matthew 22:21](https://justmeasure.org/theology/matthew-22-21--limited-and-delegated-authority/index.html); [Genesis 2:15](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/limited-and-delegated-authority/index.html); [Exodus 20:15](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/limited-and-delegated-authority/index.html); [Proverbs 11:1](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/limited-and-delegated-authority/index.html) ## Positive Fitness ### Defense of Life and Family Good rule should protect households, children, and the created order instead of undermining them. **Scripture:** [Psalm 127:3](https://justmeasure.org/theology/psalm-127-3--defends-life/index.html), [Ephesians 6:1-4](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/defends-life/index.html), [1 Timothy 5:8](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/defends-life/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Good rule should protect households, children, and the created order instead of undermining them. ### Truthful and Courageous Rule Magistrates should be just, truthful, and capable of resisting party machinery when righteousness requires dissent. **Scripture:** Exodus 18:21, Proverbs 29:2, Romans 13:3-4 **Reformed rationale:** Magistrates should be just, truthful, and capable of resisting party machinery when righteousness requires dissent. ### Restraint of Evil Civil office is not messianic, but it is accountable to restrain evil and reward what is truly good. **Scripture:** [Micah 6:8](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/de-escalation/index.html), [Isaiah 1:17](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/de-escalation/index.html), [1 Peter 2:14](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/de-escalation/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Civil office is not messianic, but it is accountable to restrain evil and reward what is truly good. ## Per-Issue Scripture and Principle Index Each issue below is generated from the scoring doctrine data used by the app. Vote-level Scripture pills jump directly to these entries. open_corruption ### [Bribery and deliberate public theft](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/open-corruption/index.html) Tier 1 - Hard Disqualifier Clear participation in bribery, corruption, or direct public theft. **Principle:** Justice, honest judgment, prohibition of theft and bribery. **Scripture:** [Exodus 23:8](https://justmeasure.org/theology/exodus-23-8--open-corruption/index.html), [Deuteronomy 16:19](https://justmeasure.org/theology/deuteronomy-16-19--open-corruption/index.html), [Proverbs 15:27](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-15-27--open-corruption/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Justice, honest judgment, and the prohibition of theft and bribery govern the magistrate. abortion ### [Protection or funding of abortion](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/abortion/index.html) Tier 1 - Hard Disqualifier Support for abortion as a legal right or as a publicly funded good. **Principle:** Sixth commandment; image of God; protection of innocent life. **Scripture:** [Genesis 1:27](https://justmeasure.org/theology/genesis-1-27--abortion/index.html), [Genesis 9:6](https://justmeasure.org/theology/genesis-9-6--abortion/index.html), [Exodus 20:13](https://justmeasure.org/theology/exodus-20-13--abortion/index.html), [Psalm 139:13-16](https://justmeasure.org/theology/psalm-139-13-16--abortion/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** The sixth commandment protects innocent life. Civil rulers may not treat the unborn as disposable without incurring bloodguilt. child_sexual_corruption ### [Sexual corruption or mutilation of children](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/child-sexual-corruption/index.html) Tier 1 - Hard Disqualifier Support for sexual corruption or bodily mutilation of children. **Principle:** Creation order; protection of children; sexual holiness. **Scripture:** [Genesis 1:27](https://justmeasure.org/theology/genesis-1-27--child-sexual-corruption/index.html), [Genesis 2:24](https://justmeasure.org/theology/genesis-2-24--child-sexual-corruption/index.html), [Deuteronomy 22:5](https://justmeasure.org/theology/deuteronomy-22-5--child-sexual-corruption/index.html), [Matthew 19:4-6](https://justmeasure.org/theology/matthew-19-4-6--child-sexual-corruption/index.html), [Matthew 18:6](https://justmeasure.org/theology/matthew-18-6--child-sexual-corruption/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** God created man and woman with moral significance. Civil rule that institutionalizes confusion or harm against children is not neutral. bloodguilt ### [Unjust killing and immoral war support](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/bloodguilt/index.html) Tier 1 - Hard Disqualifier Material support for unjust killing or bloodguilty state action. **Principle:** Prohibition of murder; justice; magistrate under God. **Scripture:** [Psalm 106:37-40](https://justmeasure.org/theology/psalm-106-37-40--bloodguilt/index.html), [Isaiah 1:15-17](https://justmeasure.org/theology/isaiah-1-15-17--bloodguilt/index.html), [Micah 6:8](https://justmeasure.org/theology/micah-6-8--bloodguilt/index.html), [Matthew 5:9](https://justmeasure.org/theology/matthew-5-9--bloodguilt/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Civil authority must punish evil and protect the innocent, not launder bloodguilt through procedure or distance. due_process_and_just_procedure ### [Due process and just procedure](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/due-process-and-just-procedure/index.html) Tier 2 - Grave Compromise Doctrine surface for due process, confrontation, evidentiary fairness, forfeiture abuse, and other failures of just civil procedure. **Principle:** Judgment requires hearing, evidence, proportion, and just process under God. **Scripture:** [Deuteronomy 19:15](https://justmeasure.org/theology/deuteronomy-19-15--due-process-and-just-procedure/index.html), [Deuteronomy 25:1-3](https://justmeasure.org/theology/deuteronomy-25-1-3--due-process-and-just-procedure/index.html), [Acts 25:16](https://justmeasure.org/theology/acts-25-16--due-process-and-just-procedure/index.html), [Proverbs 18:17](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-18-17--due-process-and-just-procedure/index.html), [1 Kings 21](https://justmeasure.org/theology/1-kings-21--due-process-and-just-procedure/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** The magistrate must not condemn without hearing. Accusation requires real evidence, fair process, and measured judgment rather than corrupt testimony or political convenience. family_integrity ### [Family integrity and parental authority](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/family-integrity/index.html) Tier 2 - Grave Compromise Support for legislation that materially undermines family order or parental authority. **Principle:** Creation order; household integrity; parental duty under God. **Scripture:** [Genesis 1:27](https://justmeasure.org/theology/genesis-1-27--family-integrity/index.html), [Genesis 2:24](https://justmeasure.org/theology/genesis-2-24--family-integrity/index.html), [Ephesians 6:1-4](https://justmeasure.org/theology/ephesians-6-1-4--family-integrity/index.html), [1 Timothy 5:8](https://justmeasure.org/theology/1-timothy-5-8--family-integrity/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** God ordained the household as the foundational unit of society. Civil rule should protect rather than undermine family order and parental authority. foreign_entanglement ### [Foreign entanglement and intervention risk](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/foreign-entanglement/index.html) Tier 2 - Grave Compromise Support for legislation that materially deepens foreign entanglement or intervention risk. **Principle:** Prudence under justice; bloodguilt risk; limits on empire logic. **Scripture:** [Psalm 82:2-4](https://justmeasure.org/theology/psalm-82-2-4--foreign-entanglement/index.html), [Proverbs 20:18](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-20-18--foreign-entanglement/index.html), [Isaiah 31:1](https://justmeasure.org/theology/isaiah-31-1--foreign-entanglement/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Prudence under justice requires limiting empire logic and foreign intervention that risks bloodguilt and unjust burden on citizens. household_privacy_and_property ### [Household privacy and property boundaries](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/household-privacy-and-property/index.html) Tier 2 - Grave Compromise Doctrine surface for search and seizure, domestic surveillance, home-entry powers, and unjust commandeering of property or household life. **Principle:** The household is not open to arbitrary seizure or intrusion by the state. **Scripture:** [Deuteronomy 24:10-11](https://justmeasure.org/theology/deuteronomy-24-10-11--household-privacy-and-property/index.html), [Exodus 20:15-17](https://justmeasure.org/theology/exodus-20-15-17--household-privacy-and-property/index.html), [1 Samuel 8:11-17](https://justmeasure.org/theology/1-samuel-8-11-17--household-privacy-and-property/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** A household is not open to arbitrary state intrusion. Property, family space, and ordinary civil peace should not be treated as raw material for state convenience. liberty_of_conscience_and_speech ### [Liberty of conscience and lawful speech](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/liberty-of-conscience-and-speech/index.html) Tier 2 - Grave Compromise Doctrine surface for religious liberty, lawful speech, assembly, petition, compelled speech, censorship, and related civil-liberty concerns. **Principle:** God alone is Lord of the conscience; civil rulers must not punish lawful witness or compel sin. **Scripture:** [Acts 4:19-20](https://justmeasure.org/theology/acts-4-19-20--liberty-of-conscience-and-speech/index.html), [Acts 5:29](https://justmeasure.org/theology/acts-5-29--liberty-of-conscience-and-speech/index.html), [Proverbs 31:8-9](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-31-8-9--liberty-of-conscience-and-speech/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** God alone is Lord of the conscience. Civil rulers may not rightfully compel sin, suppress faithful witness, or punish lawful truth-telling simply because it inconveniences power. monetary_injustice ### [Monetary debasement and false measure](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/monetary-injustice/index.html) Tier 2 - Grave Compromise Support for inflationary theft, reckless debt, or dishonest monetary policy. **Principle:** False weights and measures; oppression of households. **Scripture:** [Leviticus 19:35-36](https://justmeasure.org/theology/leviticus-19-35-36--monetary-injustice/index.html), [Proverbs 11:1](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-11-1--monetary-injustice/index.html), [Proverbs 20:10](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-20-10--monetary-injustice/index.html), [Habakkuk 2:6-8](https://justmeasure.org/theology/habakkuk-2-6-8--monetary-injustice/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** False weights and measures condemn dishonest systems that quietly transfer wealth, burden households, and plunder future generations. omnibus_complicity ### [Omnibus complicity](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/omnibus-complicity/index.html) Tier 2 - Grave Compromise Repeated support for bundled legislation funding grave evil. **Principle:** Complicity in evil remains morally relevant. **Scripture:** [Isaiah 10:1-2](https://justmeasure.org/theology/isaiah-10-1-2--omnibus-complicity/index.html), [Proverbs 17:15](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-17-15--omnibus-complicity/index.html), [James 4:17](https://justmeasure.org/theology/james-4-17--omnibus-complicity/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** General equity requires judging not only explicit acts but also material cooperation with unjust law and unjust spending. proportionate_punishment ### [Proportionate punishment](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/proportionate-punishment/index.html) Tier 2 - Grave Compromise Doctrine surface for excessive fines, cruel punishments, excessive bail, and other disproportionate state penalties. **Principle:** Justice must be measured and proportionate, not degrading or excessive. **Scripture:** [Deuteronomy 25:1-3](https://justmeasure.org/theology/deuteronomy-25-1-3--proportionate-punishment/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Justice must be measured and proportionate. Punishment must not become degrading, vindictive, or arbitrarily excessive. restraint_civil_authority ### [Restraint of civil authority](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html) Tier 2 - Grave Compromise Voted yea for a coercive power that fails a scriptural command current law does not fail. **Principle:** Romans 13:3-4, Romans 13:6-7, Romans 3:8, Deuteronomy 19:15-18, Deuteronomy 25:1-3, Deuteronomy 17:18-20, Deuteronomy 1:16-17, Deuteronomy 25:13-16, Proverbs 18:17, Proverbs 17:15, Proverbs 24:24-25, Ecclesiastes 8:11, 1 Samuel 12:3-5, 1 Samuel 8:11-17, Leviticus 24:12, Numbers 15:34, WCF 20.4, WCF 23.1, WLC 144-145 **Scripture:** [Romans 13:3-4](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Romans 13:6-7](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Romans 3:8](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Deuteronomy 19:15-18](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Deuteronomy 25:1-3](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Deuteronomy 17:18-20](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Deuteronomy 1:16-17](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Deuteronomy 25:13-16](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Proverbs 18:17](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Proverbs 17:15](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Proverbs 24:24-25](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Ecclesiastes 8:11](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [1 Samuel 12:3-5](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [1 Samuel 8:11-17](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Leviticus 24:12](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), [Numbers 15:34](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/restraint-civil-authority/index.html), WCF 20.4, WCF 23.1, WLC 144-145 **Reformed rationale:** WCF 20.4 and WCF 23.1. The magistrate's sword and tribute are assigned and limited. Yea is graded as the bill enacted and nay as current law, by the same five tests. A good aim does not justify the means (Romans 3:8). Fit is prudential and does not by itself penalize. abuse_coverup ### [Shielding or obstructing accountability for child abuse](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/abuse-coverup/index.html) Tier 2 - Grave Compromise Support for legislation or conduct that shields abusers, suppresses truth, or obstructs public accountability for child exploitation and trafficking. **Principle:** Justice requires exposing evil, not hiding it. **Scripture:** [Isaiah 10:1-2](https://justmeasure.org/theology/isaiah-10-1-2--abuse-coverup/index.html), [Luke 8:17](https://justmeasure.org/theology/luke-8-17--abuse-coverup/index.html), [Romans 13:3-4](https://justmeasure.org/theology/romans-13-3-4--abuse-coverup/index.html), [Ephesians 5:11](https://justmeasure.org/theology/ephesians-5-11--abuse-coverup/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** The magistrate must not protect evildoers or hide their works. Suppressing accountability for child abuse is a grave dereliction of civil justice. surveillance_state ### [Surveillance state and censorship power](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/surveillance-state/index.html) Tier 2 - Grave Compromise Support for surveillance or censorship structures that intensify unjust centralized power. **Principle:** Truth, liberty of lawful action, and limits on coercive state power. **Scripture:** [Exodus 20:16](https://justmeasure.org/theology/exodus-20-16--surveillance-state/index.html), [Proverbs 11:13](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-11-13--surveillance-state/index.html), [Isaiah 5:20](https://justmeasure.org/theology/isaiah-5-20--surveillance-state/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Truth, liberty of lawful action, and limits on coercive state power are required under the ninth commandment and general equity. targeted_appropriations ### [Targeted appropriations and stewardship concern](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/targeted-appropriations/index.html) Tier 2 - Grave Compromise Support for targeted appropriations legislation that warrants narrower stewardship review but does not by itself prove omnibus-style concealment. **Principle:** Stewardship, public trust, and prudence in civil spending. **Scripture:** [Luke 16:10-12](https://justmeasure.org/theology/luke-16-10-12--targeted-appropriations/index.html), [1 Corinthians 4:2](https://justmeasure.org/theology/1-corinthians-4-2--targeted-appropriations/index.html), [Romans 13:7](https://justmeasure.org/theology/romans-13-7--targeted-appropriations/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Civil spending is still a matter of stewardship and public trust. A targeted appropriations vote may warrant moral review, but it should not automatically inherit the stronger omnibus-complicity claim unless the bill truly bundles or conceals grave evil. war_funding ### [War funding and foreign bloodguilt risk](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/war-funding/index.html) Tier 2 - Grave Compromise Support for legislation that materially funds war or unjust foreign entanglement. **Principle:** Magistrates are accountable for unjust violence and bloodguilt. **Scripture:** [Psalm 106:37-40](https://justmeasure.org/theology/psalm-106-37-40--war-funding/index.html), [Isaiah 1:15-17](https://justmeasure.org/theology/isaiah-1-15-17--war-funding/index.html), [Micah 4:3](https://justmeasure.org/theology/micah-4-3--war-funding/index.html), [Matthew 5:9](https://justmeasure.org/theology/matthew-5-9--war-funding/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Magistrates are accountable for unjust violence and bloodguilt. War funding without just cause implicates the civil ruler in moral harm. defends_life ### [Defends innocent life](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/defends-life/index.html) Tier 3 - Positive Fitness Positive evidence that a candidate defends life in law and policy. **Principle:** Civil protection of innocent life. **Scripture:** [Psalm 127:3](https://justmeasure.org/theology/psalm-127-3--defends-life/index.html), [Psalm 139:13-16](https://justmeasure.org/theology/psalm-139-13-16--defends-life/index.html), [Proverbs 31:8-9](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-31-8-9--defends-life/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Civil protection of innocent life is a positive duty of the magistrate under the sixth commandment. economic_justice ### [Economic justice and honest measure](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/economic-justice/index.html) Tier 3 - Positive Fitness Positive evidence that a candidate supports honest money and fiscal restraint. **Principle:** Justice, honest measure, restraint in debt and plunder. **Scripture:** [Leviticus 19:35-36](https://justmeasure.org/theology/leviticus-19-35-36--economic-justice/index.html), [Proverbs 11:1](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-11-1--economic-justice/index.html), [Micah 6:8](https://justmeasure.org/theology/micah-6-8--economic-justice/index.html), [Romans 13:7](https://justmeasure.org/theology/romans-13-7--economic-justice/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Justice, honest measure, restraint in debt, and opposition to plunder are duties under the eighth commandment and general equity. abuse_accountability ### [Exposure and prosecution of child abuse](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/abuse-accountability/index.html) Tier 3 - Positive Fitness Positive evidence that a candidate supported measures exposing abusers, forcing transparency, or strengthening public accountability around child exploitation and trafficking. **Principle:** Justice, truthful witness, and protection of the vulnerable. **Scripture:** [Isaiah 1:17](https://justmeasure.org/theology/isaiah-1-17--abuse-accountability/index.html), [Proverbs 24:11-12](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-24-11-12--abuse-accountability/index.html), [Luke 8:17](https://justmeasure.org/theology/luke-8-17--abuse-accountability/index.html), [Ephesians 5:11](https://justmeasure.org/theology/ephesians-5-11--abuse-accountability/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Civil rulers must expose evil, defend the vulnerable, and bring hidden abuse into judgment rather than shielding abusers through secrecy or institutional protection. self_defense_and_arms ### [Lawful self-defense and bearing arms](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/self-defense-and-arms/index.html) Tier 3 - Positive Fitness Doctrine surface for lawful defense, arms questions, and civil-defense concerns where Scripture gives real principle but modern policy details remain partly prudential. **Principle:** Self-defense and public defense are lawful under God; the magistrate bears the sword ministerially, not absolutely. **Scripture:** [Romans 13:4](https://justmeasure.org/theology/romans-13-4--self-defense-and-arms/index.html), [Luke 22:36](https://justmeasure.org/theology/luke-22-36--self-defense-and-arms/index.html), [Exodus 22:2-3](https://justmeasure.org/theology/exodus-22-2-3--self-defense-and-arms/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Self-defense and public defense are lawful under God. The magistrate bears the sword ministerially, and lawful private defense is not inherently sinful even where modern policy details remain prudential. limited_and_delegated_authority ### [Limited and delegated authority](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/limited-and-delegated-authority/index.html) Tier 3 - Positive Fitness Doctrine surface for jurisdictional limits, unlawful consolidation of power, and structural overreach in civil government. **Principle:** Civil authority is delegated by God, office-bound, and not absolute. **Scripture:** [Romans 13:1-4](https://justmeasure.org/theology/romans-13-1-4--limited-and-delegated-authority/index.html), [Matthew 22:21](https://justmeasure.org/theology/matthew-22-21--limited-and-delegated-authority/index.html), [2 Chronicles 26:18](https://justmeasure.org/theology/2-chronicles-26-18--limited-and-delegated-authority/index.html), [Deuteronomy 16:18-20](https://justmeasure.org/theology/deuteronomy-16-18-20--limited-and-delegated-authority/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Civil authority is delegated, not absolute. Offices have proper bounds, and the magistrate may not absorb every sphere or ignore jurisdictional limits. de_escalation ### [Peacemaking and de-escalation](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/de-escalation/index.html) Tier 3 - Positive Fitness Positive evidence that a candidate supported troop withdrawal, restraint, or measures reducing war escalation. **Principle:** Peacemaking, restraint, and refusal of needless bloodshed. **Scripture:** [Micah 4:3](https://justmeasure.org/theology/micah-4-3--de-escalation/index.html), [Matthew 5:9](https://justmeasure.org/theology/matthew-5-9--de-escalation/index.html), [Romans 12:18](https://justmeasure.org/theology/romans-12-18--de-escalation/index.html), [James 3:18](https://justmeasure.org/theology/james-3-18--de-escalation/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Magistrates should be slow to shed blood and should pursue peace where justice permits. Measures that restrain escalation and withdraw from needless conflict are positive acts of civil prudence under biblical peacemaking. right_to_repair_and_meaningful_ownership ### [Right to repair and meaningful ownership](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine/right-to-repair-and-meaningful-ownership/index.html) Tier 3 - Positive Fitness Doctrine surface for right-to-repair questions, meaningful ownership, withheld parts/tools/manuals, software locks that hollow out ownership, and related restrictions on lawful repair work. **Principle:** Stewardship, meaningful property, honest commerce, and the integrity of ordinary household goods and trades. **Scripture:** [Genesis 1:28](https://justmeasure.org/theology/genesis-1-28--right-to-repair-and-meaningful-ownership/index.html), [Genesis 2:15](https://justmeasure.org/theology/genesis-2-15--right-to-repair-and-meaningful-ownership/index.html), [Exodus 20:15](https://justmeasure.org/theology/exodus-20-15--right-to-repair-and-meaningful-ownership/index.html), [Exodus 20:17](https://justmeasure.org/theology/exodus-20-17--right-to-repair-and-meaningful-ownership/index.html), [Deuteronomy 24:10-11](https://justmeasure.org/theology/deuteronomy-24-10-11--right-to-repair-and-meaningful-ownership/index.html), [Leviticus 19:35-36](https://justmeasure.org/theology/leviticus-19-35-36--right-to-repair-and-meaningful-ownership/index.html), [Proverbs 11:1](https://justmeasure.org/theology/proverbs-11-1--right-to-repair-and-meaningful-ownership/index.html), [Acts 18:3](https://justmeasure.org/theology/acts-18-3--right-to-repair-and-meaningful-ownership/index.html), [1 Thessalonians 4:11-12](https://justmeasure.org/theology/1-thessalonians-4-11-12--right-to-repair-and-meaningful-ownership/index.html) **Reformed rationale:** Ownership under God is not imaginary. Stewardship, private property, honest commerce, and the dignity of lawful trades together support the ordinary expectation that a man may maintain, open, restore, and lawfully repair what he truly owns, while resisting manipulative arrangements that empty ownership of its substance. For agents and readers: [llms.txt](https://justmeasure.org/llms.txt), [llms-full.txt](https://justmeasure.org/llms-full.txt), and the [sitemap](https://justmeasure.org/sitemap.xml). # How JustMeasure Works JustMeasure is built to make political judgment more traceable. It gathers public records, classifies bills into reviewed moral categories, and applies a fixed scoring system so users can see why a candidate was ranked the way he was. **Rankings updated October 26, 2026, 11:44 AM ET · Votes through September 30, 2026** Exported candidates: 719 | Filings on file, by office: H: 5838 | P: 1467 | S: 1567. These counts include every filing for that office, so they are larger than the ranked list. One person can have more than one filing. Non-voting delegates are left out. ## What the site does JustMeasure is a political accountability tool that gathers public data from official congressional voting records and bill metadata. Candidate rankings come from those votes. Bill summaries and tags are drafted to classify: - what a bill is about - what the vote appears to do in practical terms - how the bill may relate to specific biblical and moral concerns already defined by the project That step uses Claude Haiku 5.5 (`anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5`), prompt `bill-enrichment-v6.1`, temperature 0.1. The model sees the bill id, title, summary, policy area, latest action, chamber, and source URL, plus tags already on the bill. It does not see the sponsor or the sponsor's party. Appropriations, war funding, omnibus bills, a family-policy tag paired with life or child protection, recommit motions, continuing appropriations, and titles that say “for other purposes” beside appropriations or an authorization go to Claude Sonnet 5.5 (`anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.5`). So do mixed or unclear readings, a bill marked needs review, and any restraint-lane command the first model flags. A bill marked needs review does not score until a person reviews it. On the restraint lane, a low-confidence result does not score. An ordinary tag is not held back only because confidence is low. The moral rules are human-written. Verses on ordinary tags are human-authored. Restraint citations have to be on a fixed list. The model does not create the moral standard. Roll calls come from the [House Clerk](https://clerk.house.gov/evs/) and [Senate LIS](https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/). Bills and CRS summaries come from the [Congress.gov API](https://api.congress.gov/v3). Names and offices come from [FEC bulk files](https://www.fec.gov/files/bulk-downloads/). Sitting members are checked against the [House Clerk member list](https://clerk.house.gov/member_info/olm-119.pdf) and the [Senate contact list](https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.xml). Ballot briefs are separate from candidate rankings. They grade the Yes and No options on a public measure with the same Scripture standard and the same five restraint tests used for bills. No means current law. The only leans are Yes and No. A measure is judged only as written. A protection the text leaves out counts against the measure. A close call still gets a pick and names the two lanes in tension. Watch notes never change the lean. On close calls that Scripture does not settle, we presume against adding unchecked coercive power. This deliberately weighs the risk of government overreach above the risk of government under-protection. Scripture counts both as real failures (Proverbs 17:15; Romans 13:4), and a Christian who weighs them the other way is not departing from Scripture. Unchecked means a power with no standard of proof, required finding, time limit or review in the same text. The tiebreaker is applied the same way to every measure. It is tagged Prudential judgment. Scripture doesn't settle it; Christians may vote either way. Every tiebreaker lean names the under-protection cost of the option it picks. Westminster Confession of Faith 20 is counsel to conscience. It is not the tiebreaker's warrant. In Tennessee, a blank on an amendment works like a No for anyone voting for governor (Tennessee Constitution, Article XI, Section 3; [Tennessee Secretary of State](https://sos.tn.gov/announcements/2026-proposed-constitutional-amendments)). This is the counting rule. It is not a request to vote. Claude Haiku 5.5 proposes the lanes. A person reviews them. A brief moves from draft, to draft reviewed, to published. These briefs are counsel to conscience (Westminster Confession of Faith 20.2). They do not score voters and they do not enter legislator rankings. See [Ballot briefs](https://justmeasure.org/ballot.html). My Ballot is the voting-booth cheat sheet. It is its own page. Senate races are Class II seats, whose terms end January 3, 2027 ([Senate contact list](https://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.xml), retrieved October 19, 2026; [Class II](https://www.senate.gov/senators/Class_II.htm)), plus two sourced specials: Florida, Ashley Moody ([Florida Division of Elections](https://dos.elections.myflorida.com/candidates/CanList.asp?OfficeCode=USS&elecID=20261103-GEN)), and Ohio, Jon Husted, unexpired term ending January 3, 2029 ([Ohio Secretary of State Directive 2026-18](https://www.ohiosos.gov/assets/dir2026-18-form-of-the-official-ballot-may-5-2026-primary-special-election.pdf)). Every U.S. House seat is on the ballot (U.S. Const. art. I, §2). Only those incumbents are graded. Challengers and newcomers are not named and are not scored. Bills affect rankings when they are mapped into reviewed scoring categories and marked ready for scoring. A bill marked needs review does not score until a person reviews it. Presidential nominations (ids that start with `pn-`) and House simple resolutions (`hres-`) are not graded. A Congressional Review Act disapproval does not score unless a reviewed enrichment marks it ready to score. ## The three-tier ranking system From there, JustMeasure ranks candidates using a three-tier system. ### Tier 1: Hard disqualifiers Tier 1 marks a record **Disqualifying vote on record** when either of these is true: - a yea for a non-bundled bill tagged abortion, child sexual corruption, bloodguilt, or open corruption, on final passage or an amendment at full weight, or on cloture, a motion to proceed, or discharge when the direction is known - a nay on cloture, the motion to proceed, or final passage of a clean bill that defends life or protects children, when that member has no yea on final passage or an amendment of the same bill A yea on cloture is not substantive support. A later substantive yea keeps a cloture nay at Tier 2. Clean means the known content includes that protection and no unrelated major tag. Family policy is always a companion. Abuse accountability is a companion only together with child protection. Unknown content is not clean. A reviewer-verified overreach provision, a reviewed Tier 2 cap, or a bundled bill blocks Tier 1. The event stores 100. It is not reduced by the vote-type multiplier. Sponsoring such a bill can disqualify. Cosponsoring scores at half weight and is not Tier 1 by itself. ### Tier 2: Grave compromise Tier 2 looks for patterns of grave compromise, such as repeated support for: - war funding or foreign entanglement - debt expansion and inflationary spending - omnibus packaging that hides accountability - surveillance or coercive state power Those patterns are scored as a lane profile, not as a running total. Each lane's rate is the member's residual divided by the exposure on bills in that lane, times the heaviest penalty weight that fired in that lane in the member's chamber. The lanes are summed. Repeating the same compromise inside one lane does not pile the weights up. With no Tier 1 failure, a lane-profile score of 45 or more is **Grave pattern on record**. A score of 20 or more, and below 45, is **Compromises on record**. Debt and war-funding lanes count at half weight. Omnibus, appropriations, and surveillance stay at full weight. Surveillance still scores: a yea is a Tier 2 penalty of 15, and a nay is a credit of 8. Speech protection, religious liberty, and due process score at 8 either way. The restraint lane (Westminster Confession of Faith 20.4) tests both the bill and current law with the same five tests. Only a Scripture command can cost points, both models must agree, and low confidence on that lane does not score. The lane weight would be 15 and a credit 8, but the reviewed outcome stored no penalties across 417 bills, so the lane has changed no score. The notes are not on bill pages yet. **Three-vote minimum.** Tier 2 measures a pattern, and a pattern needs more than one witness: "a matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses" (Deuteronomy 19:15). Each Tier 2 lane (life, children, honest money, war and peace, and so on) gets its full weight only when a member has cast at least 3 distinct scored roll-call votes in it. With fewer, the lane counts proportionally: 1 vote counts at 1/3 weight, 2 votes at 2/3. The candidate breakdown shows this, for example "life 16.7 (1 of 3 required votes, so 1/3 weight; 100% of 50)". Tier 1 disqualifiers are not affected. **Overreach provisions.** Some protective bills also hand the government a power that Scripture does not give it, such as a deadline to take down content with no appeal, or seizing property without a conviction. A member can vote against such a bill without voting against the protection. When a reviewer has checked the bill text and quoted the provision, the bill is treated like a bundled bill. A nay on it is never a Tier 1 disqualifier, and its Tier 2 penalties count at half weight. The provision has to be a means of enforcement, never the bill's ban on the harm itself. For example, S. 146 (TAKE IT DOWN Act) is flagged for its 48-hour takedown rule with no counter-notice. **Contested credits and tier-2 nays at 25.** When a member votes against the penalized side on a genuinely contested final vote (final passage, a conference report, or cloture when the bill had neither, with at least 10% of yea and nay votes on the losing side), that vote earns a credit in the same lane. The test uses vote margins only, never party. A credit can offset at most half of a lane's Tier 2 penalties on other bills, never penalties from bundled bills, and never counts toward the three-vote minimum. Credits never affect Tier 1. Separately, a bill a reviewer has capped at Tier 2 counts at half weight, so a nay on a 50-weight protective bill counts 25, except H.R. 498 and H.R. 3492. Both stay capped at tier 2, so they can never be a Tier 1 or disqualifying event, and they count at full tier-2 weight. Their exposure and their points are not halved, for any member. A bundled bill keeps its own half weight; the two are never combined. ### Tier 3: Positive fitness Tier 3 looks for positive fitness, meaning evidence that a candidate: - actively defends life - protects children - supports accountability and truth-telling - resists unjust war and favors de-escalation - shows stronger stewardship and independence from corrupt systems Candidates who clear Tier 1 and Tier 2 can then be ranked more positively based on those strengths. In other words, positive points do not erase direct support for grave evil. ## Debt, spending, and war Debt, spending and war-funding votes count as prudential compromises at reduced weight. By themselves they can produce 'Compromises on record' but never 'Grave pattern on record.' They count at full weight when the bill or record shows a named injustice: debasing money, defaulting on debts already owed, or funding unauthorized or documented unjust war (Leviticus 19:35-36; Psalm 37:21; Westminster Confession 23.2; Habakkuk 2:12). We cap these lanes because Scripture governs these areas without settling most individual votes, and the gravest labels must rest on what Scripture plainly forbids. The national debt is a real burden passed to children who cannot consent to it. A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children (Proverbs 13:22). The eighth commandment requires frugality, and the Westminster Larger Catechism lists it among the duties of that commandment (WLC 141). These votes still count. They count at reduced weight. Together with other marks they can add up to Grave pattern on record. They never produce that label by themselves. The same rule applies to every member. Omnibus bills, appropriations, and surveillance votes stay at full weight. The reduced weight is the debt and war-funding lanes. A named-injustice tag is not applied to any bill in this record until a human review cites the provision. Until then those votes stay at the reduced weight. The same weight applies to every member. ## Why a cloture nay on a clean protection bill counts In the Senate most bills cannot come to a vote on their merits unless sixty senators agree to end debate. When cloture fails, the bill stops. On a bill that does one thing, a nay on cloture is not a scheduling preference. It is the vote that decides whether the protection becomes law. On S. 6, the Born-Alive bill, cloture failed 52-47 on January 22, 2025, and the bill went no further. We treat such a nay as opposing the protection only when three things are true: 1. The bill is clean. Its only lane is protecting innocent life or children, and review found no unrelated major provision and no overreach provision. 2. The bill adds an enforceable duty, penalty or remedy beyond existing law. 3. The member voted for no clean bill that carries the same protection. Scripture does not let us excuse a refusal by its form: "If thou forbear to deliver them that are drawn unto death, and those that are ready to be slain; If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it?" (Proverbs 24:11-12). **Existing law already covers it.** 1 U.S.C. 8 says that a child born alive is a "person" under federal law. It imposes no duty of care and no penalty. A bill that adds those is not redundant. A bill that adds nothing enforceable does not meet our test. **It was a procedural vote.** Objections to process can be real. That is why a yea for any clean bill carrying the same protection keeps a member's nay at the lower tier. For each member, the latest vote among cloture, the motion to proceed, and passage governs, including a matched House or Senate vehicle. A supporting latest vote counts as support on every vehicle in that group. An opposing latest vote removes earlier support. A procedural yea on a clean harmful bill is a Tier 1 vote only when there is no later nay on any matched vehicle. The same rule applies to every member. **The text has problems.** Concerns about the text belong in the review of the bill. If review finds a real defect, the bill is not clean, and no nay on it counts at this level. **What we do not claim.** The ninth commandment forbids "misconstructing intentions, words, and actions" (Westminster Larger Catechism 145). We grade the vote, not the heart. Where a member stated reasons, we link them. No bill becomes Tier 1 without a human reading of its operative text. H.R. 21 and S. 6 are signed and stand. H.R. 498 is capped at tier 2 so it can never be a Tier 1 or disqualifying event, and it counts at full tier-2 weight. Its exposure and its points are not halved, for any member. It stays a matched vehicle with H.R. 3492. H.R. 3492 has no Tier 1 sign-off. Adam Malin, 2026-10-21: it is mixed. The "otherwise conveying ... medications" clause in (h)(2), combined with aiding-and-abetting law, could reach parents, and the text does not exclude that, so a good-faith Christian could vote nay over that means without opposing the protection. H.R. 3492 is capped at tier 2 on the same terms: it can never be a Tier 1 or disqualifying event, it counts at full tier-2 weight, and its exposure and its points are not halved, for any member. It stays a matched vehicle with H.R. 498. A bill with no sign-off cannot newly become Tier 1. The same rule applies to every member. ## Motions to table, discharge, and concur Motions to table, to discharge, and to concur are read by polarity in both directions. A yea and a nay are each scored as supporting or opposing the bill, according to what that motion does. Tabling, including a motion to table a discharge, opposes the bill. A motion to discharge advances it. Concurrence is passage. A concur vote on a debt-limit or must-pay bill is not scored as a spending yea. ## Votes against one's own caucus "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil" (Exodus 23:2) is why a costly vote against one's own caucus is worth noticing. Each card may say "Voted against own caucus on N of M scored votes." The count uses a cohort of at least 10. It is the same descriptive table for every member. It is not a score input, and it does not withhold credits. The same rule applies to every member. ## Sponsorship cap Sponsorship cap. A member who sponsors or cosponsors a measure on our reviewed list cannot be labeled Qualified. In the current Congress the list includes the reviewed bills and resolutions. In the prior Congress, only an operative class-A bill caps the label. Prior-Congress resolutions are notes and do not cap. The window is the current and prior Congress, about four years, because a recent deliberate act of the office stays on the record for one full Congress after. The list covers measures whose text expands access to, funding for, or legal protection of abortion, or of gender-transition interventions for minors. The member's score does not change; the highest label available is Compromised. Each listed measure was read and signed off by a named reviewer. Withdrawn cosponsorships do not count. We apply this because Scripture treats framing unjust law as the lawmaker's own act (Isa 10:1; Ps 94:20), and the sixth commandment requires protecting the innocent (Exod 20:13; Westminster Larger Catechism 135-136). For measures about gender-transition interventions for minors, the same commandment forbids wounding the body (Westminster Larger Catechism 136), and Genesis 1:27 records that male and female he created them. Measures on which faithful Christians disagree (for example IVF, contraception and the Equal Rights Amendment) are not on the list unless a separate, published theology ruling places them there. This is a lesser label cap for measures that are not Tier 1. Sponsorship of a clean Tier 1 bill can still disqualify under the existing rule. A disqualifying vote on record stays that label. An existing Compromises on record, Grave pattern on record, or Too few scored votes band is unchanged. The cap applies only to a record that would otherwise be Qualified on the 118th–119th Congress record, and it is applied before the tested-record gate. Sponsoring a protective bill does not earn credit. Protecting life is the baseline duty of the office, and we measure it through recorded votes, which cost more than a cosponsorship. Earlier record notes, when a member has them, use this closer: This note is shown for completeness. It is not scored. A sponsorship in the 117th Congress or earlier stays a note. Prior-Congress resolutions are notes and do not cap. Operative class-A bills in the current and prior Congress can cap the label. The label window is the current and prior Congress, about four years. In practice this cap falls on one side. Every measure on the current list was introduced by members of the minority party. Many are messaging bills the majority will not bring to a vote, so a cosponsorship is often the only public record of the member's position. We apply the cap because the act itself is what we measure, not because of who performs it. We also checked the opposite risk: counting contested measures (IVF, contraception, the ERA) would fall mostly on majority-party members, and we excluded them for the same reason, pending a published theology ruling. Adam Malin signed these eleven measures on 2026-10-22: H.Con.Res. 65, H.R. 12, H.R. 9448, H.R. 10600, H.Res. 238, and H.Res. 1428 of the 119th Congress, and H.R. 12, H.R. 782, H.R. 1723, H.R. 2573, and S. 317 of the 118th Congress. Held entries stay pending and do not cap a label. ## Past floor votes Past floor votes on life and on children count at a disclosed prudential weight. A vote in the prior Congress counts at 0.5. A vote two Congresses back counts at 0.25. Nothing older is scored. The weight counts toward the lane minimum: the votes add their weights, not one full vote each. An absence, or a present, on a bill that defends life or children still counts, at that same reduced weight. An absence on a bill that expands abortion does not. Scripture gives no half-life for sin. Recent conduct is better evidence of how a member uses the office now. The numbers 0.5 and 0.25, and the two-Congress limit, are chosen numbers, open to revision. Decay changes the score only. Whether a cap applies does not decay. A yea to expand abortion in that window caps the label at Compromises on record and does not disqualify. The cap reaches only a record that would otherwise be Qualified on the 118th–119th Congress record. It is applied with the sponsorship cap, before the tested-record gate. S. 4554 is a sense of Congress. It is scored at the 0.5 factor for a non-operative measure, not at a full harm exposure of 100, and a yea still caps the label. H.R. 8297 is scored as a cap only. It is Tier 1 eligible, pending human text review and Adam sign-off, and it is not applied as Tier 1. A past version of a capped bill keeps the 0.5 weight. A nay on a past protection bill is scored at the decayed weight. It does not disqualify, and it is not this cap. The Respect for Marriage Act yea is tier 2 under family harm, not under children. The lane weight is 50, the same tier-2 weight as life and children, and the 117th Congress vote counts at 0.25 toward the lane minimum. The act contradicts the creation ordinance of marriage (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6; Westminster Confession 24.1). Some Christians backed its religious-liberty amendment, and its practical effect largely codified Obergefell. Neither changes what the law declares marriage to be. The Equality Act is held and is not scored. H.R. 5, the Parents Bill of Rights, is family and prudential. The end is commanded (Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Ephesians 6:4; Westminster Larger Catechism 129) and the means are federal mandates on local schools. It is shown with the 0.5 factor. A nay adds no compromise points and does not cost Qualified. Reserve-fund amendments bind nothing. They are notes, not scores. Endorsing the taking of innocent life is an act against the commandment, while declining a non-binding reserve fund is not. Contraception, IVF, and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act stay excluded. Past penalties mirror whichever party set each Congress's agenda. The agenda decides which questions reach a roll call. We do not tune these rules to equalize outcomes. ## Final status bands The final outcomes, method version 2026-10-20, are: - Disqualifying vote on record: at least one Tier 1 vote. - Grave pattern on record: scored votes add up to 45 or more. - Compromises on record: 20 or more, and below 45. - Qualified on the 118th–119th Congress record: no Tier 1 vote and under 20 on the 118th–119th Congress record. Every scored vote counts toward the minimum, good or bad, so a negative event still counts and a clean record above the office minimum can pass. This is a screen, not proof of fitness. A sponsor or cosponsor of a reviewed abortion or minors-transition measure cannot receive this label. In the prior Congress, only an operative class-A bill caps the label. Prior-Congress resolutions are notes and do not cap. The window is about four years, because a recent deliberate act of the office stays on the record for one full Congress after. A past yea to expand abortion also caps that label and does not disqualify. - Not yet tested on life and child-protection votes: the score would be Qualified, and it is unchanged, but there is no recorded yea or nay on a key life or child-protection vehicle. A Qualified label claims a tested record on the gravest votes. Members seated after those votes, or who never cast one, show their score but are not called Qualified until tested. - Too few scored votes: no scored evidence, no votes, unresolved vote context, fewer votes than the office minimum, or a suppressed duplicate. The office minimum is the lower of 100 and half a typical full record for that office, and it is never below 8. A typical full record is the loaded-vote count at the 75th percentile of members of that office who have at least one vote. A Tier 1 vote still outranks a thin record. - **No incumbent is Qualified** when no sitting member on that ballot cleared the screen. We grade sitting members' records only. Other candidates on this ballot have not been graded. **Unsettled** means a Grave pattern, Compromises, or Qualified label agrees in fewer than 90 percent of 200 resamples of that chamber's scored bills. The summary is shown in muted type. A Tier 1 vote is a recorded fact and is never marked unsettled. A **Borderline** badge marks a label whose lane-profile score is within 3 points of 20 or 45. Exactly 20 is Compromises on record. Exactly 45 is Grave pattern on record. The label itself is unchanged. When a record has positive-witness points, the card shows them on their own line, such as "Positive witness: 12 points in 2 lanes." Credits do not set the label. ## Notable features - It uses deterministic scoring rather than black-box rankings. - It keeps the moral rules separate from the LLM tagging layer. - It weighs different kinds of votes differently instead of treating every vote as equally revealing. - It handles multiple votes on the same bill without unfair double-counting. - It normalizes similar bill tags into a smaller set of reviewed scoring categories. - It ranks candidates from roll-call votes and from reviewed sponsorship and cosponsorship, not from campaign money, lobbying, or affiliations. - It is designed to show evidence for why a candidate received a status instead of outputting a mysterious score. For a fuller explanation of how votes become scores, see the [scoring mechanics](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine.html#scoring-mechanics). For the biblical rationale and Scripture references behind those judgments, see the [Doctrine page](https://justmeasure.org/doctrine.html). ## Potential ranking issues ### Not covered yet - Challengers and newcomers are not named and are not scored. - Presidents, governors, and other executives are not graded from this legislative record. Presidential filings can appear in the office counts. In this snapshot those rows are Too few scored votes. - State legislators are not covered. - Committee votes are not covered. - Presidential nominations are not graded. ### Fairness A positive-fitness credit is withheld when at least 70 percent of the member's caucus cast the same vote, in a cohort of at least 10 (Proverbs 24:11). The rule does not withhold penalties and it never sets a label. Life, child protection, and the other Tier 1-grade concerns stay exempt. An independent is counted with the caucus that person votes with at least 75 percent of the time, over at least 20 votes. - Procedural votes can be difficult to interpret when the bill context is thin or the vote intent is unclear. - Drafted tags can be imperfect. A bill marked needs review does not score until a person reviews it. - A candidate's result may look stronger or weaker depending on how much verified legislative data is actually available for that person. JustMeasure is meant to improve clarity, not pretend to offer perfect knowledge. Where the record is thin, the system is designed to surface that limitation rather than hide it. For agents and readers: [llms.txt](https://justmeasure.org/llms.txt), [llms-full.txt](https://justmeasure.org/llms-full.txt), and the [sitemap](https://justmeasure.org/sitemap.xml).