Ever wonder how our elected officials vote on the issues? GovTrack makes it easy to follow bills and resolutions, check the voting records of our representatives including missed votes, view report cards for each member of Congress, and watch Congressional committee activity.
According to their website, GovTrack “helps ordinary citizens find and track bills in the U.S. Congress and understand their representatives’ legislative record.” The project was begun more than eleven years ago as a hobby by Joshua Tauberer, PhD and president of Civic Impulse LLC, and spurred the open government movement. While independent of the federal government, it is one of the most heavily used transparency sites for citizens, being visited by seven million people in 2014.
The website even allows citizens to be alerted when legislation is introduced by subject, keyword, or a specific member of Congress. As the 2016 presidential election draws near, be sure to check out the candidates that have served in Washington.