Editorial and Research Standard

Liberty Scorecard Methodology

How evidence is collected, classified, reviewed, and translated into an analytical 0–100 constitutional-alignment assessment.

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Methodology status: This page establishes the publication standard. A numerical weighting formula has not been published and will not be invented. Weighting details require owner editorial confirmation before individual scores are released or republished.

1. Subject Selection

Subjects may include politicians, public figures, government institutions, policies, organizations, companies, schools, media organizations, and other entities whose documented public conduct can be meaningfully evaluated.

2. Evidence Collection and Source Hierarchy

Research should prefer primary and authoritative material in this order when available:

  1. Statutes, legislation, and court opinions
  2. Government records, voting records, executive orders, and regulatory actions
  3. Official transcripts and organizational policies
  4. Government, audited, or required public filings
  5. Direct public statements
  6. Reputable secondary reporting
  7. Clearly identified commentary

Each material factual claim should link to a source that directly supports it. Commentary must not be presented as a primary factual record.

3. Classification by Principle

Evidence is classified under one or more of the six published principles: Individual Liberty, Freedom of Speech, Rule of Law, Equal Protection, Constitutional Limits on Government Power, and Government Accountability.

4. Weighting and Scoring

The framework uses a 0–100 scale. Before publication, the editorial team must document how evidence is weighed, how conflicting evidence is handled, how time periods affect a score, and how principle-level assessments combine into the final score. Until that standard is approved, no mathematical precision should be implied.

5. Human Review and Editorial Responsibility

AI may assist with discovery and organization, but a human editor must verify citations, distinguish fact from interpretation, review the reasoning, and accept responsibility for the published assessment.

6. Publication Requirements

Every published score should include the subject, score, entity type, publication or evaluation date, last-reviewed date, concise summary, affected principles, evidence items, sources, reasoning, and a methodology link.

7. Corrections, Rescoring, and Updates

Readers may submit corrections through the contact page. Material factual errors should be corrected transparently. New evidence, source corrections, changes in public conduct, or methodology revisions may justify rescoring. A public change log and review interval require owner editorial approval before scored profiles launch.

8. Scope and Limitations

Scores concern relevant public conduct, policies, and institutional actions. Race, ethnicity, religion, sex, disability, sexual orientation, and other protected or personal traits are not scoring criteria. A Liberty Score is an analytical assessment, not a scientific measurement, legal ruling, endorsement, or instruction about how a reader should vote or think.