Methodology, caveats and adaptation notes
How ratings were produced
Candidate bill and cosponsorship records were searched for each race (congress.gov and GovTrack for federal; LegiScan, state legislature sites and vote-record mirrors for state), as well as official platforms, questionnaires, and news coverage, including BK Reader, World Journal and other ethnic press. Ratings were based on how a candidate’s voting record and stated position placed on our rubric. Primary candidates who did not advance and non-rated third-party nominees are noted but not graded.
What "No record" means
We had a couple candidates that we could not find reliable statements or voting records on for key issues. For these issues for these candidates, we assigned them a rating of NR to signal our lack of knowledge.
Known gaps and lower-confidence items
- District-level Asian American citizen voting-age population (CVAP) figures could not be verified for CA-40, IL-08, VA-10, TX HD-26 and TX HD-27. Those races cite resident-share or county-level figures with sources named.
- The DCCC (partisan) reports Chuong Vo called ICE agents' behavior "outstanding"; no neutral corroboration was found; it is excluded from grading.
- Some social posts are undated (Beckwith's powerline reel). Their substance is described; dates to be confirmed. Subramanyam's 2026 H-1B defense is now dated: an IANS interview published July 16, 2026.
- Official March 3, 2026 Fort Bend primary results confirm Reynolds 24,244 (87.52%) and Prevot 3,458 (12.48%). Still's SB 116 passage-by-substitute vote is Yea on the owning Georgia Senate roll #583, February 25, 2026. HB 4838 passed the Texas House but was not enacted.
- Cook Political Report ratings were checked against six live House race pages: CA-45, WA-03, NV-03, VA-10, WA-08 and IL-08. State-race labels are editorial context, not Cook ratings. Date-specific polling and primary results do not establish November outcomes.
- Demographic limits: use the year, geography and denominator beside each figure. AD-70's 39.16% resident share and 40.42% Asian CVAP come from different Census/ACS map-statistics series. NY SD-17's 48.56% is non-Hispanic Asian residents, not voters. NV-03's 2022 district citizen-adult share must not be blended with Nevada's 2024 statewide electorate. WA-08 uses the 2024 Data USA resident profile. No current district CVAP is implied.
- Statement-based ratings are identified in the justifications. A platform is evidence of a position, not proof of implementation; matching stars do not imply equal types of evidence.
- Washington evidence: Wilson's owning rolls confirm Yea on SB 5497, HB 1110, HB 1337, SB 5944, SB 5995 and SSB 5427. Braun voted Yea on SB 5944 and Nay on SB 5995. Preserve each bill's motion, version and date. Remaining limits include exact current office-service availability, some local histories, demographic vintages and transaction-level finance reconciliation. Unsupported universal negatives are not certified.
Nonpartisan statement
Lantern Vote publishes this guide as a civic-education research document. Lantern Vote does not endorse or oppose any specific candidate or party.
Sources
Ranked in order: roll-call records and bill pages (congress.gov, GovTrack, state legislature systems), official campaign and government sites, reputable media (ethnic-media outlets included) and clearly flagged questionnaires. Candidates who have never held office or have never voted on an issue are rated on what they have said or signed.