Our Sources
Every fact on Purple Voice comes from a public, verifiable source. This page lists the official authorities behind our data—so you can check our work in under 30 seconds.
Purple Voice doesn’t editorialize. We don’t interpret voting records or spin campaign finance numbers. Instead, we pull data directly from the agencies and institutions that create it—Congress, the Federal Election Commission, federal courts, and lobbying registries—and present it in a format designed for speed and clarity.
Below is the complete list of primary sources. Each one is a matter of public record. Each one links directly to the issuing authority. And each one updates on a schedule that keeps Purple Voice current without sacrificing accuracy.
Primary Authorities
Congress.gov
The official public portal for U.S. legislative information, maintained by the Library of Congress.
What they publish: Full text of bills, amendments, sponsors, co-sponsors, legislative status, committee assignments, and Congressional Record entries.
What Purple Voice surfaces: Bill summaries, sponsor lists, current legislative status, and links to official bill pages for every tracked proposal.
Visit Congress.gov →
U.S. Federal Election Commission
The independent regulatory agency charged with administering and enforcing federal campaign finance law.
What they publish: Candidate committee filings, itemized contributions, independent expenditures, and disbursement records for all federally registered campaigns.
What Purple Voice surfaces: Total receipts, individual donor counts, PAC contributions, and expenditure breakdowns on member profile pages.
Visit FEC.gov →
Senate Office of Public Records
The Senate office responsible for receiving and making available lobbying disclosure forms filed under the Lobbying Disclosure Act.
What they publish: LD-1 (registration) and LD-2 (activity) filings showing which organizations lobby on which issues, and how much they spend.
What Purple Voice surfaces: Lobbying activity timelines, issue areas, and registrant names tied to legislation and member interactions.
Visit SOPR →
CourtListener / Free Law Project
A nonprofit repository of federal and state court opinions, dockets, and oral argument audio, aggregated from official court sources.
What they publish: Searchable full-text opinions from the Supreme Court, circuit courts, and district courts, plus docket sheets and case metadata.
What Purple Voice surfaces: Links to relevant case law when members cite judicial decisions or when legislation responds to court rulings.
Visit CourtListener →
Wikipedia
The free encyclopedia, maintained by volunteer editors under strict verifiability and neutral point-of-view policies.
What they publish: Biographical summaries, educational backgrounds, career timelines, and election histories—each claim footnoted to a secondary source.
What Purple Voice surfaces: Narrative biographical context on member pages (education, previous offices held, notable career milestones) with attribution links.
Visit Wikipedia →
What verification looks like in practice
Every data point on Purple Voice can be traced back to one of these authorities. If a member page says “Voted Yea on H.R. 1234,” you can click through to Congress.gov and see the official roll call. If we show a $50,000 contribution, the FEC filing is one click away. We don’t ask you to trust us—we give you the receipts.
Purple Voice exists because democracy depends on a shared set of facts. These sources are that foundation.
How We Use These Sources
1
Daily Refresh
Data updates flow in automatically, keeping records current without manual intervention or editorial delay.
2
Direct Links
Every claim links back to the original filing, vote record, or disclosure—so you can verify in seconds.
3
No Spin
We surface the numbers and the record. Analysis, interpretation, and conclusions are left to you.
Frequently Asked
How often does Purple Voice update its data?
Data refreshes daily. Legislative status, campaign finance filings, and lobbying disclosures flow in as they’re published by the source agencies, typically within 24 hours of official release.
Can I trust that Purple Voice hasn’t altered the data?
Every fact on the site links directly to its source. Click any vote, contribution amount, or bill status and you’ll land on the official record. If we’ve made an error in presentation, the source link will reveal it immediately.
Why does Purple Voice use Wikipedia for biographies?
Wikipedia’s biographical entries are vetted by volunteer editors, footnoted to secondary sources, and updated in near-real-time. We attribute all narrative biographical details and link to the Wikipedia page so you can review the sourcing yourself.
What if a source goes offline or changes its format?
We monitor each source for availability and schema changes. If an agency restructures its data or moves to a new portal, we adapt—but the underlying authority remains the same. Our goal is continuity of the public record, not dependence on a single endpoint.
Does Purple Voice editorialize or interpret voting records?
No. We show the vote (Yea/Nay/Present), the bill number, and a link to the full text. We do not score members, assign ideology labels, or characterize votes as “good” or “bad.” The data speaks; you decide what it means.
Can I use Purple Voice data in my own research or reporting?
Yes. The underlying data is public record. When citing Purple Voice, please link to the specific page and note that the data originates from the source agencies listed above. Better yet, link directly to the original source alongside our presentation.
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