About ActionOverWords Index: Who Runs It and How It Works

Why this exists

Every election produces thousands of specific promises, and almost no permanent record of which ones were kept. ActionOverWords Index exists to be that record: tracking what federal and state officials actually said, sourcing it, and following up long after the campaign ends. The same standard applies whether a promise came from a Democrat or a Republican, because accountability that only works for one side isn't accountability.

What it does

The Index tracks specific promises made by U.S. officials, federal and state, and shows whether each one has been kept, broken, or something in between. Most political coverage tracks what officials say. This tracks what actually happened to what they said.

One promise at a time. Each entry is a single, specific promise: a bill to introduce, a policy to carry out, a commitment to keep.
Sources you can check. Every source we list is linked and labeled by type. Our standard is three kinds of sources for each promise: a government record, mainstream or left-leaning news, and right-leaning news.
Six plain statuses. Not started, In progress, Stalled, Compromise, Completed or Broken, based on what has actually happened, not on intent.
One score formula. The AOW Score is a 0 to 100 average of an official's tracked promises, weighted by status. The formula is fixed and published, so anyone can recompute it.

The details, including how a promise is sourced and how the score is worked out, are on the methodology page.

Who runs it, and how it's paid for

ActionOverWords Index is run by Action Over Words LLC, an independent company. It's supported by membership plans, optional one-time tips and advertising: signed-out visitors and free accounts may see ads, and paid members see none. None of those changes a promise's status or the AOW Score, and we don't knowingly accept money from elected officials, candidates, campaigns, parties or PACs.

Browsing and the core promise tracker are free to everyone.

Staying nonpartisan

Party is a fact, not a verdict. A party badge is shown the way an election map shows one, and party is never assumed from context. Status colors are earned by outcome, never by party.
Sourcing is shown, not summarized into a conclusion. Every promise links to where it came from, so the evidence can be checked rather than taken on trust.
The score is a fixed formula. Nobody adjusts it case by case.
No ranking by party or score. On these pages, officials are grouped by where they serve and listed alphabetically, or for the administration in the official order of office.

More on each point is in the methodology.

What to know about its limits

This is a new dataset, and sourcing is still being completed for many entries. Many of them carry a Still finding sources tag in the interactive tracker instead of being presented as fully verified. A status is our good-faith reading of the sources linked on the entry, not an audited record, and anyone can appeal one with a named source. Some officials have no promises tracked yet. County and city government, state legislatures and judiciaries are not covered yet; the methodology page lists what is and isn't.

Get in touch

To report an error, suggest a promise or ask a question, see the contact page, or write to info@action-over-words.com.