A Legislative Scorecard Can Help Us Ask Better Questions

The Arizona Center for Economic Progress has released its 2026 Legislative Scorecard, a tool that helps Arizonans see how state lawmakers voted on selected bills related to education funding, economic well-being, and state budget and tax policy.

For people of faith, a scorecard is not a substitute for prayer, conversation, discernment, or careful attention to our neighbors. But it can be a useful starting point. Public policy affects whether families can afford housing, whether schools have enough resources, whether health care systems can serve vulnerable people, and whether the state budget reflects the needs of children, workers, seniors, and communities living closest to economic hardship.

The Arizona Center for Economic Progress describes its work as advancing policies that create fairer tax codes and raise the revenue needed to invest in education, affordable housing, health care, infrastructure, and other supports that help build thriving communities and better economic opportunities for all Arizonans. Its scorecard reflects that policy perspective. It does not cover every issue before the Legislature, and it should not be read as the only way to evaluate a public official. Instead, it offers one lens for understanding how legislative choices line up with a particular vision of economic justice and public investment.

That matters for LAMA because Lutheran advocacy asks us to consider how laws and budgets affect our neighbors. ELCA social teaching calls us to seek the well-being of all, participate in civic life, and pay special attention to those who are poor, hungry, excluded, or pushed to the margins. State budgets are moral documents because they reveal what we choose to fund, what we choose to neglect, and whose needs are treated as urgent.

As you review the scorecard, consider asking:

• How did my legislators vote on bills affecting public education, poverty, taxes, and economic security?

• Do those votes reflect concern for children, families, low-income workers, and vulnerable neighbors?

• Where might I want to thank a lawmaker?

• Where might I want to ask a follow-up question?

• What stories from my congregation or community should my legislators hear before the next session?

LAMA does not endorse candidates or political parties. Our role is to equip Lutherans for faithful, nonpartisan civic engagement rooted in love of neighbor. Tools like this scorecard can help advocates move beyond slogans and look more closely at actual votes, budget choices, and policy consequences.

As election season approaches, we encourage Arizona Lutherans to learn who represents them, study how they have voted, attend town halls, ask respectful questions, and share what they see in their congregations and communities. Faithful advocacy begins with paying attention — and then showing up for the neighbor.