The National Rifle Association , for example, monitors votes on legislation affecting gun owners. The Washington Education Association , which represents teachers, will track legislative votes on education bills and support for teachers' salaries. If you're interested in environmental questions, you might obtain the ratings compiled by the League of Conservation Voters . If lowering taxes is your thing, check out score cards from the National Taxpayers Union . Most of these guides are non-partisan in name only.
Democrats get high marks from unions and abortion-rights, and environmental organizations.
One of the most potent users of scorecards is the Christian Coalition, which passed out nearly 400,000 of its voting guides in Washington state in 1992. It got social conservatives flocking to polls in this state, helping Republicans take control of the state House and the state's congressional delegation. You can obtain a more complete and unbiased portrait of members of Congress from a nonpartisan group in Oregon known as Project Vote Smart. For first-time candidates, with no public record trail, pinning them down on issues can be harder, but not impossible. Check out which groups are endorsing them.