Vote Climate U.S. PAC’s Voter’s Guide gives every incumbent and challenger for a seat in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate a – Climate Calculation – a score for voters to take to the polls in November. Our Climate Calculations, ranging from Climate Hero to Zero help Americans to vote climate. Challengers are scored in 2-climate change categories:
Climate Change Categories – CHALLENGERS
- Position – 85%
- Fee on Carbon – 15%
Each challenger receives a score in each of the 2-climate change categories of 0, 25, 50, 75 or 100 for position and 0, 50 or 100 for support of a fee on carbon. Scores are averaged for a final Climate Calculation, based upon the following criteria:
Position – CHALLENGERS – 85% of weighted score. What They Think and What They Say
- 0 – disagrees with the scientific consensus that climate change is real and human-made, from burning fossil fuels.
- 25 – does not take a clear position on whether climate change is real and human-made, from burning fossil fuels. (For people for whom we did not find information)
- 50 – agrees with the scientific consensus that climate change is real and human-made, from burning fossil fuels.
- 75 – understands the importance of climate action, but not as a top priority issue.
- 100 – understands the importance of action on climate change as a top priority issue.
U.S. and Statewide Fee on Carbon – CHALLENGERS – 15% of weighted score.
- 0 – makes public statements, advocates or votes against putting a U.S. fee on carbon.
- 50 – has no known, or an inconsistent position on a U.S. carbon fee.
- 100 – publicly supports and advocates for a U.S. fee on carbon.
Example
Position Score 100 x .85 = 85
Carbon Fee Score 50 x .15 = 7.5
Add 2 Scores for Overall Score 92.5
Supports Roe v. Wade
- Supports Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.
- Opposes Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.
- Has no known or inconsistent position on Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion.
[If a candidate supports Roe v. Wade, they do not support restrictions on a woman’s right to choose safe and legal abortion up until the point of viability, at 24 weeks of gestation. They support abortion rights post-viability if it is necessary to save the life or health of the women. If candidates indicate that states should be allowed to decide, they do not support Roe. There will be no score associated with the candidate’s position on Roe v. Wade, so it does not figure into their climate calculation. It will be noted on the Google form in their profile. Any sources associated with their position will be added to the sources section of the profile.]