WyoVote

How WyoVote Ratings Work

Method as used in the 2022–2026 rating reports (v2.1 for 2024–2026; v1.2 for 2022; v1.3 for 2023).

Three levels: roll call, bill, ranking

1. A roll-call vote is scored

Each recorded floor or committee vote gets one score from −3.000 (liberal) to +3.000 (conservative). Decimals are allowed (for example 1.333). The score follows the WyoVote Bill Rating Guide categories below. Procedural motions with no policy content score 0.000. Floor votes use positive IDs; committee votes use negative IDs.

2. A bill is not one score

One bill can have many roll calls: introduction, readings, committee, concurrence, amendments, conference reports, veto overrides. Non-amendment votes on the same bill share that bill’s one score. Conference committee reports and full-bill veto overrides also take the bill’s score. From 2024 on, every amendment is scored on its own. In 2022 and 2023 only, some amendments were not scored individually and got 0.000 (6 in 2022, 55 in 2023), and line-item veto overrides got 0.000 (18 in 2022, 15 in 2023). The bill itself is not ranked; only the roll-call scores feed the legislator rating.

3. The legislator rating and ranking

  • Aye = +score for that roll call.
  • Nay = −score (sign flip).
  • Rating = sum of those signed values ÷ number of Aye + Nay votes.
  • Zero-score roll calls are included in the count.
  • Excused, Absent and Conflict are not counted; they are tallied separately.
  • Ratings are rounded to 3 decimals before ranking.
  • Legislators are ranked by that average (most conservative = Rank 1).
  • Bands are set each session by splitting all legislators of both chambers into thirds by rank (for 93 legislators: ranks 1–31 Conservative, 32–62 Moderate, 63–93 Liberal; 2022 had 90; in 2023 a tie at ranks 31 and 32 made it 1–32, 33–62, 63–93). House and Senate reports use the same session-wide bands. Legislators tied at a cutoff share the band.

Bill Rating Guide (evaluation table)

Policy scores cite one or more of these guide codes; procedural votes (0.000) and budget amendments scored by dollar size do not. There is no 0800 in the guide. Scale meaning: +3.000 = most conservative, 0.000 = neutral or procedural, −3.000 = most liberal. Actual scores run from about −2.0 to +3.0.

WyoVote Bill Rating Guide (© 2020–2021, #g_Guide)
Code Conservative value (+) Liberal value (−)
0100 Constitution Supreme — the Constitution is the foundation for all laws. Constitution Living Document — outdated; should be changed by court actions.
0200 Smaller Government — less government power and taxes; less bureaucracy and regulation. Larger Government — greater government power and tax burden; more bureaucracy and regulation.
0300 Greater individual freedoms — protect God-given rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Greater government control of individuals — regulation of all aspects of life, public and private.
0400 Individual responsibility and accountability for the consequences of one’s actions. Government knows best — government control of social justice and fairness.
0500 Strong private property laws — limited ability to take property; Wyoming primacy over water, wildlife, minerals and natural resources. State control of property — eminent domain, confiscation; federal government controls all resources.
0600 2nd Amendment — oppose restrictions on 2nd Amendment rights. Gun Control — restriction of gun rights by any means; confiscate means of self-defense.
0700 Freedom of Religion — free expression and practice of religious beliefs in all areas of life, private, public and governmental. Secular state power trumps religious freedom — strict elimination of religious expression in public and government.
0900 Power Closer to Voter — place voters closer to government so they can exercise more control. Isolate Voter from Power — so government can exercise power without interference.

Logic flow

Standard flowchart symbols: rounded = Start/End, parallelogram = data, rectangle = process, diamond = decision, wavy document = reports.

WyoVote rating logic flow Start, get roll-call record, decide if procedural, if amendment score amendment or use bill score, for each legislator vote Aye Nay or exclude, accumulate, average, rank, color band, write reports, end. START Get roll-call record floor (+) / committee (−) Procedural, no clear leaning? Yes Score = 0.000 neutral / procedural No Amendment? Yes Score amendment on its own (Rating Guide) No Use the bill's score (incl. conference / full veto) For each legislator vote on this roll call Vote type? Aye / Nay / Other Aye Add +score Nay Add −score Other Exclude Excused / Absent / Conflict Accumulate signed scores Average = sum ÷ (Aye+Nay) zero scores counted Rank by average Color band (session thirds) Conservative / Moderate / Liberal Rating reports (PDF) END

Source notes

Drawn from the WyoVote Bill Rating Guide (#g_Guide), Legislative Rating Design v2.06, Legislative Rating Process User’s Guide v1.02, and the 2022–2026 rating reports’ “How to read this report” pages. Every roll call is scored and every Aye or Nay is counted, including all budget-bill (HB0001/SF0001) roll calls.