Methodology · Published in full
The Accountability Score
One number per official, 0–100, built only from public records. Here is the entire formula. Every component, weight, source, and limitation. If you cite the score, cite this page with it.
The formula
Score = 30% Fundraising strength + 30% Legislative output + 20% Peer standing + 20% Experience.
When a component has no underlying data. An official with no campaign filing on record, or no first-elected year: that component is dropped and the remaining weights renormalized. We never penalize an official for a gap in our records, and every score's breakdown states exactly which components were used.
Fundraising strength
30%The official's cash on hand, expressed as a percentile among officials in the same chamber (Texas Senate, Texas House, Harris County, City of Houston, HISD).
Source: Latest campaign finance filing. FEC (federal), Texas Ethics Commission (state), harrisvotes.com (county), City of Houston (city). Filing date shown in every breakdown.
Limitations: A single-snapshot measure. As our filing archive accumulates (we snapshot every filing period), this upgrades to a trajectory: growth across consecutive filings.
Legislative output
30%For legislators: bills passed into law divided by bills filed in the current legislature, plus a small volume credit (capped at 20 points). For executives and administrators (commissioners, council members, judges): a fixed office-scope baseline, labeled as such. Never presented as a pass rate.
Source: LegiScan, TX 89th Legislature (live).
Limitations: Pass rate rewards focus over volume; a member who files 5 bills and passes 3 outscores one who files 60 and passes 10. We consider that a feature. Co-authorship is not yet counted.
Peer standing
20%The official's overall rating (OVR) as a percentile within their chamber. OVR combines war chest, lawmaking, office scope, public accessibility, and tenure. Computed with identical inputs for every official so the ranking is apples-to-apples.
Source: Computed in the open: lib/politician-stats.ts in our public repository.
Limitations: OVR shares inputs with other components (deliberately. Peer standing is the relative view of the same public record).
Experience
20%Years since first elected to public office, scaled linearly and capped at 25 years. So a 40-year incumbent doesn't drown out everything else.
Source: First-elected year per official, from official biographies and election records.
Limitations: Counts continuous public service including prior offices (e.g. a commissioner's years as state senator).
What this score is not
It is not an ideology score, an endorsement, or a prediction. Two officials with opposite politics can both score 85. It measures the observable mechanics of holding office. Money raised, bills passed, standing among peers, time served: from public filings. The complete computation is open source in our repository; corrections to the underlying data are welcome via the contact page.