Version 1.0 · October 5, 2026
The Ballot Standard
The Ballot Standard is a party-blind list of the 15 qualities the best public officials share, in three groups: character, qualifications and performance. Each quality is scored from public records, the same way for every candidate of every party. It does not score policy positions.
Who they are
Character
01Integrity
Tells the truth, keeps their word, and takes no private gain from public office.
What we check: Ethics findings, financial disclosures filed on time, conflict-of-interest trades, campaign finance findings, pledges kept or broken.
02Courage
Takes a stand that costs them something, including telling their own side no.
What we check: Documented breaks with party leadership or major supporters, positions held under pressure, full answers to candidate questionnaires.
03Accountability
Owns mistakes, answers hard questions, and works in the open.
What we check: Debates and forums accepted, open town halls, press access, public corrections, votes explained.
04Temperament and judgment
Steady under pressure, decides on evidence, and treats opponents and staff with respect.
What we check: Conduct in a crisis, formal censures or reprimands, years of responsibility without a conduct finding.
05Fidelity to the oath
Uses power inside its limits: accepts certified results, obeys court rulings, follows the rules of the office.
What we check: Recorded votes and filings on certified election results (any year, either party), court orders, misuse-of-office findings.
What they bring
Qualifications
06Relevant experience
Has done work that prepares them for this specific office.
What we check: Prior office, military, business, legal, nonprofit or community leadership, and the size of what they led.
07Command of the job
Knows the issues and knows what the office can and cannot do.
What we check: Specific published plans that fit the powers of the office, committee work, leadership posts.
08Communication
Explains plainly, persuades, and listens.
What we check: Voter questionnaires answered, regular constituent communication, debate participation, plain-language positions.
09Roots in the constituency
Lives there, knows the people, and is funded by them.
What we check: Residency and years in the community, local service, share of donations from inside the state.
10Management
Can build and run an organization.
What we check: Campaign reports filed on time, no administrative fines, organizations and offices led.
What they deliver
Performance
11Results
Turns ideas into outcomes.
What we check: Bills enacted, Legislative Effectiveness Score, measurable results in prior roles.
12Showing up
Does the basic work of the job.
What we check: Missed votes, committee and meeting attendance.
13Constituent service
Solves problems for the people they represent.
What we check: Casework, local offices and hours, town halls, response to constituents.
14Coalition building
Wins support beyond their own faction.
What we check: Lugar Center Bipartisan Index, cross-party cosponsors and endorsements, negotiated results.
15Stewardship of public money
Treats tax dollars as someone else's money.
What we check: Clean audits, budgets passed on time, office funds returned, proposals that say how they are paid for.
How a candidate is scored
Each criterion gets a score from 0 to 4 against a written rubric. The points earned are divided by the points available on the criteria that have evidence, and shown out of 100. A number is published only when at least 8 of the 15 criteria have public evidence.
- 4
- Exemplary. Top tier on a hard metric, or sustained excellence shown by two or more independent sources.
- 3
- Strong. Clear above-baseline evidence from an official or independent source.
- 2
- Meets the standard. Positive baseline evidence and no documented shortfall.
- 1
- Shortfall. A documented shortfall on the primary record.
- 0
- Failure. A documented serious failure, established by an official finding.
- NR
- No record. No reliable public evidence either way. Left out of the math. Never counts against a candidate.
The rules behind it
Party-blind
No criterion scores a policy position. Every one had to pass the same test: would a conservative and a progressive both call this a virtue? If not, it was cut or rewritten.
Provable
Every score cites a public source a reader can open: official vote records, FEC filings, ethics findings, state election filings. No insider opinion.
Fair to challengers
Each criterion can be scored for a first-time candidate from their prior career and how they run their campaign. Where there is no record, the criterion is left out of the math and never counts against them.
The good, the bad and the unresolved
Each candidate's public life is searched end to end in news archives and public documents, and every item is confirmed to be that person and not a namesake. A low mark requires an established fact: an official finding, the candidate's own admission, or the conduct itself reported by two independent established outlets. Unresolved accusations are shown with where they stand and never move a score. Rumors that cannot be confirmed are left out.
Same rubric, same sources, every candidate
Whatever is checked for one candidate in a race is checked for the other, in every state, for every party.
What we left out, on purpose
These predict who wins. They do not predict who serves well, so none of them is scored.
- Charisma and likability
- Fundraising totals
- Endorsements
- Ideology scores
- Electability and poll position
- Luck
The standard, applied
Questions
What makes a good politician?
The best public officials share 15 qualities in three groups. Character: integrity, courage, accountability, temperament and judgment, and fidelity to the oath. Qualifications: relevant experience, command of the job, communication, roots in the constituency, and management. Performance: results, showing up, constituent service, coalition building, and stewardship of public money. The Ballot Standard scores each one from public records.
How do I decide who to vote for?
Look at the record, not the advertising. Check each candidate on character, qualifications and performance using public records and established reporting, which is what the Ballot Standard does. The candidate with the stronger record is the better choice.
What qualities should I look for in a candidate?
Look for a candidate who tells the truth, takes stands that cost them something, answers hard questions in public, has experience that fits the office, knows what the office can actually do, shows up for votes, solves constituent problems, can win support beyond their own party, and handles public money carefully. Each of these can be checked in public records.
Does the Ballot Standard favor Republicans or Democrats?
No. The Ballot Standard does not score any policy position, and the same rubric and the same sources are applied to every candidate of every party. Tests that touch both parties, such as recorded votes on certified election results, are applied identically to every year and every party.
Who decides which candidate is best?
The record does. In each race the candidate with the highest Ballot Standard score is named as having the strongest record. The Political Group is a campaign services firm that works with campaigns of every party, and any candidate it has worked for is marked on that candidate's scorecard.
What happens when a candidate has no record on something?
The criterion is marked "No record" and left out of the math, so it never counts against the candidate. A score out of 100 is published only when at least 8 of the 15 criteria have public evidence. Below that, the page shows the evidence without a number.
How is the Ballot Standard score calculated?
Each of the 15 criteria is scored from 0 to 4 against a written rubric. The points earned are divided by the points available on the criteria that have evidence, and shown as a score out of 100. Every score links to its public source.
Can a campaign correct a score?
Yes. Any campaign or reader can send a correction with a link to a public source to tpg@thepoliticalgroup.com. Each scorecard shows the date its evidence was last checked.
The Ballot Standard is published by The Political Group and edited by Frank Carrasco, PhD. The Political Group is a campaign services firm that works with campaigns of every party. Any candidate it has worked for is marked on that scorecard. Free to cite with a link (CC BY 4.0).