Card image cap

Lamar Smith's Ratings and Endorsements on Issue: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

Vote Smart displays all known interest group ratings for each candidate and official, regardless of issue or bias.

Keep in mind that ratings done by special interest groups often do not represent a non-partisan stance. In addition, some groups select votes that tend to favor members of one political party over another, rather than choosing votes based solely on issue concerns. Nevertheless, they can be invaluable in showing where an incumbent has stood on a series of votes in the past one or two years, especially when ratings by groups on all sides of an issue are compared. Website links, if available, and descriptions of the organizations offering performance evaluations are accessible by clicking on the name of the group.

With rare exceptions, Vote Smart displays interest group ratings as a 0-100 percentage. While many interest groups use percentages as ratings to begin with, please note that Vote Smart has translated some ratings to a percentage from a different rating system for consistency and ease in understanding. Please visit the group's website, email us at ratings@votesmart.org or call our Voter Information Hotline at 1-888-VOTESMART for more specific information.

11%
2017
11%
2017
20%
2015-2016
20%
2015-2016
100%
1997-1998
0%
2015-2016
0%
2013-2014
0%
2004
0%
2016
0%
2016
0%
2011
30
2008
11
2007
0%
2005
0%
2004
40%
2003
100%
2006-2012
100%
2006-2012
59%
2014
0%
2015-2016
0%
2015-2016
0%
2014
0%
2013-2014
0%
2013-2014
0%
2011-2012
0%
2011-2012
0%
2009-2010
0%
2009-2010
0%
2007-2008
0%
2007-2008
0%
2005-2006
0%
2005-2006
0%
2003-2004
0%
2003-2004
0%
2001-2002
0%
2001-2002
0%
2001
10%
1999-2000
10%
1999-2000
9%
1999
0%
1997-1998
0%
1997-1998
000%
1995-1996
000%
1995-1996
0%
2007
0%
2007
0%
2007
50%
2007
50%
2014
50%
2014
0%
2017
13%
2015-2016
15%
2015
21%
2013
10%
2011
18%
2009-2010
24%
2009
35%
2007-2008
40%
2007
25%
2005-2006
22%
2005
27%
2003-2004
20%
2003
22%
2001-2002
21%
2001
20%
2000
18%
1999
20%
1995-1996
8%
1991-1992
0%
2007
0%
2001-2002
95%
2013
32%
2013
63%
2013
77%
2009
80%
2009
82%
2007
61%
2007
64%
2005
42%
2005
85%
2005
53%
2004
85
2003
85
2003
85
2003
83
2002
83
2002
83
2002
74%
2001
74%
2000
0%
2014
33%
2005-2006
33%
2005-2006
arrow_upward