Common Cause, a nonpartisan watchdog group, has released its 2024 "Democracy Scorecard," evaluating every member of Congress on their support for voting rights, Supreme Court ethics, and other reforms.
"Our 2024 Democracy Scorecard shows a surge of support in Congress for reforms that strengthen the right to vote, take back the Supreme Court, and break big money’s grip on our politics," said Virginia Kase Solomón, President & CEO of Common Cause. "The number of members of Congress with perfect scores increased more than 100% from 2020, with 58 members in our 2020 Scorecard to 117 in this year’s Scorecard. As we see the wealthy and well-connected try to influence our politics and our very livelihoods, we must demand our leaders deliver on the people’s pro-democracy agenda."
Since 2016, Common Cause has tracked support and co-sponsorship of key democracy reform legislation. This year’s scorecard includes ten legislative items in the U.S. Senate and thirteen in the U.S. House. Notable pieces of legislation include the Freedom to Vote Act, John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act.
"The 2024 Democracy Scorecard empowers voters with information to hold their leaders in Washington accountable for a government that works for all," said Molly Swank, Executive Director of Common Cause New Mexico. "Four of New Mexico’s members of Congress earned a perfect or near-perfect score for their support for pro-democracy legislation. With this year’s pivotal election, we must drive these key reforms to the top of the agenda so everyone is afforded an accountable government no matter what state we call home."
New Mexico's members of Congress who received perfect or near-perfect scores are:
- Representative Teresa Leger Fernández: 13/13
- Representative Melanie Stansbury: 13/13
- Senator Martin Heinrich: 9/10
- Senator Ben Ray Luján: 9/10
Common Cause emphasizes that it is a nonpartisan organization and does not endorse or oppose candidates for elected office.