The pledge coding rubric

The rubric for Exhibits 6 and 7 of Promises and Passage, part 1 of What Congress Ran On, Tried and Did.

Five choices in this rubric

• Each coder splits a pledge into its elements before looking at any record.
• An element that only the executive branch can carry out is not tested.
• Passage by roll call in one chamber, without enactment, is voted and failed.
• A pledge whose only floor action is a voice vote or unanimous consent is not scored.
• The pledge to pass a constitutional amendment is scored only on two-thirds roll calls in both chambers.

Agreement

The two coders placed 27 of the 32 in-scope pledges in the same category. On 3 more both found that the record does not settle the pledge, and on 2 they placed it differently; those 5 are not scored. Over the five codes the coders used (the four categories and “unsettled”), they gave the same code to 30 of the 32, and Cohen’s kappa is 0.91, against a chance-expected agreement of 0.29: the observed agreement less the agreement expected from each coder’s own shares of the codes, divided by one less that expected agreement.

The four categories

1. Enacted as pledged. A Public Law enacted in the window does every element of the pledge; the record is the Public Law number and section.
2. Enacted in part. A Public Law enacted in the window does at least one element of the pledge, but not all, or does an element short of a level, scope or permanence the pledge states; the record is the Public Law number and section.
3. Voted and failed. No Public Law in the window does any element, and at least one recorded roll call in the window was taken on a measure or amendment that would have; the record is the roll call number and date.
4. Never brought to a vote. No Public Law in the window does any element, and no roll call in either chamber in the window was taken on a measure or amendment that would have; the record is the stated Congress.gov search that returns nothing.

Each pledge takes exactly one category. The tests are applied in this order and the first one met is the code: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Elements

Before looking at any record, each coder splits the pledge text into its elements and lists them in the coder note as E1, E2, and so on. An element is one separately stated action: each verb with its object, and each item in a list of objects under one verb, is one element. (“Repeal X and give a tax cut” is two elements; “automatic registration, same-day registration, early voting and vote by mail” is four.) A stated level (“on a par with, or below, the rates of other industrial nations”), scope (“all federal candidates”) or duration (“permanent”, “ongoing”) belongs to the element it qualifies and is part of its test. Words of motive or value (“to make it easier for everyone”, “in celebration of our democratic institutions”) are not elements.

An element that only the executive branch can carry out (administration, enforcement, agency materials) is marked “executive” in the coder note and is not tested; the pledge is scored on its remaining elements. If no element remains, the pledge is not scored, with that reason. The study scores enacted law only.

The window

The window for each pledge is the Congress that convened after the platform’s election, the first Congress in which the platform’s party held the presidency and both chambers:

A law is in the window if its enactment date (the date signed, the date a veto was overridden, or the date it became law without signature) falls in the window, and its Public Law number carries the window’s Congress (115-, 117- or 119-). A roll call is in the window if it was taken in either session of the window’s Congress, up to the record date for the 119th. A law enacted before or after the window does not count, however closely it matches.

The record for each category, and what is not enough

Enacted as pledged and Enacted in part

• Record: the Public Law number (for example, “Pub. L. 115-xx, sec. yy”) and its Congress.gov page, with the section that does each element cited in the coder note.
• The law’s operative text must do the element. The test is the text of the enacted law, not its title, summary or the sponsors’ description.
• Not enough: an executive order, proclamation, regulation, agency guidance or memorandum; a bill passed by one chamber only; a conference report or agreement that was not enacted; a vetoed bill whose veto was sustained; a simple or concurrent resolution, including a budget resolution; a “sense of Congress” provision; a committee vote or committee report; a press release, signing statement or floor statement; a law outside the window.

“In part,” stated as a test. A pledge is enacted in part, and not as pledged, when any one of these is true of the enacted law:

1. it does at least one of the pledge’s elements and fails to do at least one other tested element; or
2. it moves an element in the pledged direction but stops short of a level the pledge states (a rate, an amount, a threshold); or
3. it covers a narrower group, place or set of offices than the pledge states; or
4. it is time-limited (a sunset, a single fiscal year, an expiring authorization) where the pledge states “permanent,” “ongoing” or a similar duration.

Where the pledge states no level, scope or duration for an element, any enacted change that does the element does it in full. No other ground, and no estimate of how much of the pledge was achieved, makes a pledge “in part.”

Voted and failed

• Record: the roll call (House Clerk roll call number, or Senate roll call vote number, with the Congress, session and date) and its House Clerk or Senate page.
• What counts: a roll call in the window on a measure or amendment whose text would have done at least one tested element, where that measure was then not enacted in the window. This covers a failed vote on passage; a failed cloture vote on the measure or on the motion to proceed to it; a rejected amendment; a failed motion to waive the Budget Act for the provision; a failed veto override; and a passage vote in one chamber on a measure the other chamber never passed. The coder cites the decisive roll call: the last failed vote on the measure, or, where the measure passed one chamber and died, that passage roll call plus the Congress.gov action list showing no further floor action.
• Not enough: a committee or subcommittee vote; a voice vote or unanimous consent (no roll call number; see “Not scored”); a vote on a rule (an H.Res. setting terms of debate); a vote on a motion to recommit; a vote on a budget resolution; a bill introduced, referred or reported but never voted on the floor; a provision struck under the Byrd rule without a roll call.

Never brought to a vote

• Record: the absence of a law and of a roll call, established by a stated search, with the query, the date run and the result count in the record id column, and the search URL in the record URL column.
• The search, for each tested element, run for the window’s Congress:
  1. Congress.gov legislation search; Congress: the window’s Congress; chamber: both; legislation types: bills and joint resolutions, and amendments; keywords: the element’s key terms as written in the pledge (listed in the coder note); status or action filter: “Became Law.” Result: no law doing the element.
  2. The same search with the floor-action filters for each chamber (passed or agreed to, failed of passage or not agreed to, cloture motion, veto actions). Result: no measure or amendment doing the element reached a roll call. Any measure the search surfaces is opened and its action list checked for a “Roll no.” (House) or “Record Vote Number” (Senate) entry.
  3. For each measure surfaced in step 1 that carries the element (introduced bills included), its Congress.gov action list, showing no roll call.
• Not enough to move a pledge out of this category: a bill introduced, referred, heard or reported; a committee markup vote; a press release or floor speech; a voice vote or unanimous consent (see “Not scored”).

Reconciliation bills, appropriations riders, laws later reversed

• Reconciliation bills. A reconciliation bill that is enacted is a Public Law and is tested like any other. Senate roll calls on its amendments (including those taken in a vote series), on motions to waive the Budget Act and on passage are roll calls under “voted and failed.” The budget resolution that sets reconciliation instructions is not a law and votes on it are not votes on any element. A provision dropped from a reconciliation bill under the Byrd rule without a roll call is not a vote on that element.
• Appropriations acts and riders. Regular appropriations acts, omnibus acts, supplemental acts and continuing resolutions are Public Laws and are tested like any other. Where the pledge is to fund something, an appropriation for that stated purpose does the element; where the pledge states “ongoing” or another duration, a single year’s appropriation is “in part” under test 4. Where the pledge is to change the law (not to fund), a rider that does the element only for the fiscal year the act covers, including a limitation (“none of the funds may be used to…”), is “in part” under test 4.
• Laws later reversed. A pledge is coded on the law as enacted in the window. A later repeal, expiry, amendment or court ruling does not change the code; the coder note records it in one sentence with its own record. A sunset written into the law at enactment is part of the law as enacted and is tested under test 4.
• Constitutional amendments. A joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment receives no Public Law number. For a pledge to pass such an amendment, “enacted as pledged” requires passage of the joint resolution in both chambers by a two-thirds roll call in the window (record: both roll calls); a roll call on it in either chamber that fails is “voted and failed”; no roll call is “never brought to a vote.” Ratification by the states is outside the window and outside the test.

Not scored

A pledge is not scored when either:

• the two coders disagree on its category; or
• the record does not settle it: the only floor action is a voice vote or unanimous consent; the enacted text cannot be tied to an element without a judgment the tests above do not cover; a record cited cannot be retrieved from its official source; or no element remains once executive-only elements are set aside.

The reason is recorded in one sentence, and the pledge is listed in What we could not verify. A pledge that is not scored is not counted in any category and is not reclassified by discussion between the coders.

Coding procedure

1. Two coders work independently. Neither sees the other’s sheet until both are complete.
2. Each coder works from the record only: Congress.gov (Public Laws, bill texts and action lists), the House Clerk roll call pages and the Senate roll call vote pages. Not from news coverage, the parties’ or campaigns’ own statements, scorecards or secondary tallies, and not from any earlier coding of these pledges.
3. Each coder lists the elements, then applies the tests in order (1 to 4), and fills one row per pledge: category, record type (Public Law, roll call or absence query), record id, record URL and a coder note (elements, sections, the decisive vote, any later reversal).
4. Agreement on a category ships with the record linked. If the coders cite different records for the same category, each record is checked against the category’s test and every record that meets it is linked.
5. Disagreement, or a record that does not settle the pledge, is coded “not scored” with its reason and listed in What we could not verify.
6. The agreement rate (pledges with the same category from both coders, out of 32) and Cohen’s kappa over the five codes used are reported with the results.
7. Every code for the Republican 2024 platform is stated “as of October 26, 2026.”

The coded pledges

Each pledge with its final call and the record behind it; where the coders cited different records for the same call, both are given. Congress.gov’s own search could not be used for this check; the same bill-status records were read through govinfo. Each finding of never brought to a vote rests on full-text searches of the bills and Public Laws on govinfo and of the Congress’s roll calls, with the Congress.gov search each coder ran beside it. Every code for the 2024 Republican platform is as of October 26, 2026. The full record text is in the pledge calls (CSV).

2016 Republican platform (115th Congress)

• Not scored. “We propose to level the international playing field by lowering the corporate tax rate to be on a par with, or below, the rates of other industrial nations.” (R2016-18242, tax.) The record does not settle it: the pledge sets the corporate rate against other industrial nations’ rates, which no Public Law or roll call records.
• Enacted as pledged. “We endorse the recommendation of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, as well as the current Administration’s Export Council, to switch to a territorial system of taxation so that profits earned and taxed abroad may be repatriated for job-creating investment here at home.” (R2016-18243, tax.) Record: P.L. 115-97, sec. 14101 (Dec. 22, 2017).
• Never brought to a vote. “Diversion of settlement funds to politically-connected parties should be a criminal offense.” (R2016-18285, elections and ethics.) Record: govinfo full-text search, 115th Congress bills, October 26, 2026; also Congress.gov search, 115th Congress, October 26, 2026.
• Not scored. “We support repeal of federal restrictions on political parties in McCain-Feingold, raising or repealing contribution limits, protecting the political speech of advocacy groups, corporations, and labor unions, and protecting political speech on the internet.” (R2016-18542, elections and ethics.) The record does not settle it: no law does the McCain-Feingold or contribution-limit elements, and tying any enacted provision to “protecting political speech” needs a judgment the rubric does not cover.
• Never brought to a vote. “For this reason, we support legislation to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote and secure photo ID when voting.” (R2016-18659, elections and ethics.) Record: govinfo full-text search, 115th Congress bills, October 26, 2026; also Congress.gov search, 115th Congress, October 26, 2026.
• Voted and failed. “We support repeal of the Johnson Amendment, which restricts First Amendment freedoms of all nonprofit organizations by prohibiting political speech.” (R2016-18989, elections and ethics.) Record: House Roll Call 470, 115th Cong., 2nd sess., Dec. 20, 2018; also House Roll Call 528, 115th Cong., 1st sess., Sept. 14, 2017.
• Not scored. “We also support making the federal tax code so simple and easy to understand that the IRS becomes obsolete and can be abolished.” (R2016-18990, tax.) The record does not settle it: whether Pub. L. 115-97 moved the tax code toward the simplicity pledged needs a judgment the rubric does not cover.
• Enacted in part. “It is time to repeal Obamacare and give America a much-needed tax cut.” (R2016-19297, tax.) Record: P.L. 115-97, secs. 11001 and 11081 (Dec. 22, 2017).

2020 Democratic platform (117th Congress)

• Voted and failed. “We will restore the full power of the Voting Rights Act and stamp out voter suppression in all its forms.” (D2020-15986, elections and ethics.) Record: Senate Record Vote 9, 117th Cong., 2nd sess., Jan. 19, 2022.
• Not scored. “Democrats will take action to reverse the Trump Administration’s tax cuts benefiting the wealthiest Americans and rewarding corporations for shipping American jobs overseas.” (D2020-16294, tax.) Coders disagree: one counts the 15% corporate minimum tax (Pub. L. 117-169) as raising corporate tax in part; the other finds the House-passed text that carried the pledged provisions was enacted without them, which the rubric does not settle.
• Never brought to a vote. “We will make sure investors pay the same tax rates as workers and bring an end to expensive and unproductive tax loopholes, including the carried interest loophole.” (D2020-16297, tax.) Record: govinfo full-text search, 117th Congress bills, October 26, 2026; also Congress.gov search, 117th Congress, October 26, 2026.
• Not scored. “Corporate tax rates, which were cut sharply by the 2017 Republican tax cut, must be raised, and “trickle-down” tax cuts must be rejected.” (D2020-16298, tax.) Coders disagree on whether the 15% corporate minimum tax on financial-statement income (Pub. L. 117-169) raises “corporate tax rates” (enacted in part) or whether the 21% rate stood and the last vote failed (voted and failed).
• Never brought to a vote. “Estate taxes should also be raised back to the historical norm.” (D2020-16299, tax.) Record: govinfo full-text search, 117th Congress bills, October 26, 2026; also Congress.gov search, 117th Congress, October 26, 2026.
• Enacted in part. “Our program of reform will provide immediate, marked relief for working families, including more generous, refundable tax credits to benefit low- and middle-income families, and easier and more equitable access to tax provisions that help working families build wealth, including by equalizing tax benefits for retirement contributions and providing more accessible tax breaks for homeownership.” (D2020-16301, tax.) Record: P.L. 117-2, secs. 9611, 9621, 9631 (Mar. 11, 2021).
• Voted and failed. “We will make voting easier and more accessible for all Americans by supporting automatic voter registration, same-day voter registration, early voting, and universal vote-from-home and vote-by-mail options.” (D2020-16927, elections and ethics.) Record: Senate Record Vote 9, 117th Cong., 2nd sess., Jan. 19, 2022.
• Voted and failed. “Democrats believe Election Day should be a national holiday, in celebration of our democratic institutions and to make it easier for everyone to cast their ballot.” (D2020-16928, elections and ethics.) Record: Senate Record Vote 9, 117th Cong., 2nd sess., Jan. 19, 2022.
• Voted and failed. “We will fully implement the Help America Vote Act and require that polling places and elections are accessible for people with disabilities, and work to ensure that returning citizens have their voting rights restored upon release from jail or prison without the additional hurdle of having to pay fines and fees in order to vote.” (D2020-16930, elections and ethics.) Record: Senate Record Vote 9, 117th Cong., 2nd sess., Jan. 19, 2022.
• Voted and failed. “Democrats will also fight for emergency funding for states to help make vote-from-home and vote-by-mail universally available during the pandemic, while ensuring that all jurisdictions take steps to ensure continued meaningful, safe opportunities to vote in person.” (D2020-16931, elections and ethics.) Record: Senate Record Vote 9, 117th Cong., 2nd sess., Jan. 19, 2022; also Senate Record Vote 246, 117th Cong., 1st sess., June 22, 2021.
• Voted and failed. “We must give voters the confidence that their ballot was counted as cast by supporting mandatory, statistically meaningful post-election audits and full transparency of all election results and data.” (D2020-16934, elections and ethics.) Record: Senate Record Vote 9, 117th Cong., 2nd sess., Jan. 19, 2022.
• Voted and failed. “To ensure every eligible ballot is counted, vote by mail voters must be informed of and provided a meaningful opportunity to fix any problem with their ballot.” (D2020-16935, elections and ethics.) Record: Senate Record Vote 9, 117th Cong., 2nd sess., Jan. 19, 2022.
• Enacted in part. “A professional and well-trained election workforce is critical to the administration of elections, we support ongoing federal and state funding for local elections offices.” (D2020-16936, elections and ethics.) Record: P.L. 117-103, div. E, title V, Election Assistance Commission, ‘Election Security Grants’ (Mar. 15, 2022).
• Voted and failed. “Gerrymandering distorts our democracy, and Democrats will enact measures to end partisan gerrymandering in federal elections.” (D2020-16937, elections and ethics.) Record: Senate Record Vote 9, 117th Cong., 2nd sess., Jan. 19, 2022.
• Never brought to a vote. “Democrats will fight to pass a Constitutional amendment that will go beyond merely overturning Citizens United and related decisions like Buckley v. Valeo by eliminating all private financing from federal elections.” (D2020-16948, elections and ethics.) Record: govinfo full-text search, 117th Congress bills, October 26, 2026; also Congress.gov search, 117th Congress, October 26, 2026.
• Voted and failed. “In the meantime, Democrats will work with Congress on legislation to strengthen the public funding system by matching small-dollar donations for all federal candidates, crack down on foreign nationals who try to influence elections, and ensure that super PACs are wholly independent of campaigns and political parties.” (D2020-16949, elections and ethics.) Record: Senate Record Vote 9, 117th Cong., 2nd sess., Jan. 19, 2022.
• Voted and failed. “We will bring an end to “dark money” by requiring full disclosure of contributors to any group that advocates for or against candidates, and bar 501(c)(4) organizations from spending money on elections.” (D2020-16950, elections and ethics.) Record: Senate Record Vote 346, 117th Cong., 2nd sess., Sept. 22, 2022.
• Never brought to a vote. “Democrats will ban corporate PACs from donating to candidates and bar lobbyists from donating, fundraising, or bundling for anyone they lobby.” (D2020-16951, elections and ethics.) Record: govinfo full-text search, 117th Congress bills, October 26, 2026; also Congress.gov search, 117th Congress, October 26, 2026.
• Enacted in part. “Democrats will establish a commission on federal ethics to aggressively enforce and strengthen federal ethics laws, including rules around personal financial disclosures for Executive Branch officials, and make campaign finance, financial disclosure, and lobbying disclosure filings easier for the public to access and understand.” (D2020-16956, elections and ethics.) Record: P.L. 117-125, sec. 2(b) (May 13, 2022).
• Voted and failed. “We support requiring all candidates for federal office, including presidential candidates, to publicly disclose at least 10 years of tax returns.” (D2020-16957, elections and ethics.) Record: Senate Record Vote 246, 117th Cong., 1st sess., June 22, 2021.
• Voted and failed. “And we will ban lobbying by foreign governments and significantly lower the threshold for having to register as a federal lobbyist in order to close loopholes that allow special interests to secretly influence policymaking in Congress and across the federal government.” (D2020-16961, elections and ethics.) Record: Senate Record Vote 246, 117th Cong., 1st sess., June 22, 2021; also House Roll Call 62, 117th Cong., 1st sess., Mar. 3, 2021.

2024 Republican platform (119th Congress)

• Enacted as pledged. “Republicans will make permanent the provisions of the Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that doubled the standard deduction, expanded the Child Tax Credit, and spurred Economic Growth for all Americans.” (R2024-19959, tax.) Record: P.L. 119-21, secs. 70102 and 70104 (July 4, 2025).
• Enacted in part. “We will eliminate Taxes on Tips for millions of Restaurant and Hospitality Workers, and pursue additional Tax Cuts.” (R2024-19960, tax.) Record: P.L. 119-21, secs. 70201 and 70202 (July 4, 2025).
• Voted and failed. “We will implement measures to secure our Elections, including Voter ID, highly sophisticated paper ballots, proof of Citizenship, and same day Voting.” (R2024-20123, elections and ethics.) Record: Senate Record Vote 231, 119th Cong., 2nd sess., Aug. 8, 2026.

Set aside before coding

These six sentences were coded as pledges and set aside before coding; Part 1’s What we could not verify gives each in full.

• R2016-18355, 2016 Republican: restates R2016-18242 and R2016-18243 (corporate rate, territorial system); scored once under those rows.
• D2020-16617, 2020 Democratic: restates D2020-15986; scored once under that row.
• D2020-16659, 2020 Democratic: restates D2020-15986; scored once under that row.
• D2020-16660, 2020 Democratic: executive action only (agency language materials); the study scores enacted law only.
• D2020-16926, 2020 Democratic: restates D2020-15986; scored once under that row.
• R2024-19895, 2024 Republican: outside both areas: a sentence on vehicle mandates and regulation that CAP coded to campaigns and elections (2012); executive action.