Not an opinion platform.
A transparency platform.
Our job is to sort it, sum it up, and point you to the source. Not to tell you what to think. Every claim links back to a public record. Go check it.
The real tools, explained
These sites already do this well. They have real staff and real lawyers behind them. We are not rebuilding that. We just want you to know they exist, and how to use them.
Vote Smart
Politician bios, voting records, issue positions, and candidate comparisons, nonpartisan since 1988.
votesmart.org → Run by: Project Vote Smart, a 501(c)(3) nonprofitBallotpedia
The deepest bench of federal, state, and local election and officeholder data anywhere online.
ballotpedia.org → Run by: Lucy Burns Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofitOpenSecrets
Campaign donors, PAC money, and lobbying spending. Who's funding whom, sourced to FEC filings.
opensecrets.org → Run by: Center for Responsive Politics, a 501(c)(3) nonprofitCongress.gov
The official, primary-source federal bill tracker. Text, status, sponsors, and votes straight from the Library of Congress.
congress.gov → Run by: The Library of Congress (official U.S. government)GovTrack
Plain-English bill summaries and a prognosis of whether a bill is likely to pass. Independent of Congress itself.
govtrack.us → Run by: Civic Impulse LLC, an independent civic tech companyYour state legislature's official site
State bills, votes, and committee schedules live only on the state's own .gov site. Search "[your state] legislature bill tracker."
Find yours via usa.gov → Run by: your state governmentNot "broken promise." What's completed, sourced, and what to do about it.
When Brokehella builds its own civic status tracker, it will follow this policy. Written down now, before the feature exists, so it can't quietly slip:
- ◆Status, not verdicts. We say "introduced, not yet voted on." We never say "lied." We report what the record shows. Not why.
- ◆Every claim links to its source. The bill number on congress.gov, or your state's own site. One click and you can check it yourself.
- ◆We say who owns each source. Right next to it, like the cards above. You should always know who published what you read.
- ◆Always ends with something you can do. A direct link to call or write your rep about that exact bill. Not a status and a shrug.
Organized by life situation, not legal code
General starting points. Laws vary by state. Confirm specifics with a local legal aid office.
Free or low-cost legal help by state, income-qualified: Legal Services Corporation's official finder →