Question 1

What is Civix?

Accepted Answer

Civix is a civic engagement platform that empowers citizens to track, evaluate, and engage with their elected representatives in the U.S. Congress. We provide ideology scores, voting records, donor data, approval polls, and direct messaging — all in one place.

Question 2

Do I need to create an account?

Accepted Answer

You can browse public information like member profiles, ideology rankings, and legislation without an account. However, signing up lets you vote in polls, comment on profiles, send direct messages, and participate in approval ratings.

Question 3

What is the ideology score?

Accepted Answer

The ideology score is a numerical value from -100 (most conservative) to +100 (most liberal) that reflects a member's voting patterns and policy positions.

Question 4

How do approval polls work?

Accepted Answer

Each member of Congress has an approval poll on their profile. Authenticated users can vote to approve or disapprove. Results are broken down by demographics like party, age, income, education, sex, and geography.

Question 5

Where does campaign finance data come from?

Accepted Answer

Campaign finance data is sourced from the Federal Election Commission (FEC). We display individual contributions, PAC donations, and total fundraising figures for each member.

Question 6

What is FARA?

Accepted Answer

The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) requires individuals and organizations acting on behalf of foreign governments to disclose their activities. Civix tracks FARA registrations so citizens can see foreign lobbying influence.

Question 7

How do I find my representatives?

Accepted Answer

Visit the "My Representatives" page and enter your address. Civix uses your congressional district to show your U.S. Senators and House Representative.

Question 8

Is Civix free to use?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Civix is free to use for all citizens. We believe civic engagement should be accessible to everyone.

Question 9

Can public servants create an account?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Elected officials and their staff can create verified accounts to engage directly with constituents, respond to comments, and create custom polls.

Question 10

How can I report a bug or request a feature?

Accepted Answer

Use the Feedback or Bug Report pages accessible from your profile menu. We review all submissions and prioritize based on community impact.

Civix

Help & FAQ

Getting Started

Find Your Representatives

Polls & Voting

Rankings & Ideology Scores

Political Committees & Campaign Finance

Direct Messages

Public Servant Accounts

Federal Budget

Stock Trading Tracker

Lobbying & FARA

Elections & Candidates

Citizen-Proposed Bills

AI-Generated Content

Executive Branch & Congressional Committees

Privacy & Security

Notifications & Settings

Help & FAQ

Getting Started

What is Civix?

Do I need to create an account?

Why do you ask for my demographic information?

What does "citizenship verification" mean during onboarding?

Where does Civix get its data?

Find Your Representatives

How do I find my congressional representatives?

What if my representatives are wrong?

Polls & Voting

How do approval polls work?

Can I change my vote?

What are custom polls?

How are bill support/oppose polls calculated?

Rankings & Ideology Scores

What is the ideology score?

How are rankings determined?

How often are scores updated?

Political Committees & Campaign Finance

Where does campaign finance data come from?

What do committee profiles show?

What are the different committee types?

Can I see who funds my representative?

Direct Messages

How do I send a direct message to my representative?

Does it cost anything to send a message?

Will my representative actually see my message?

What demographic info is shared with my message?

Public Servant Accounts

How does a member of Congress claim their profile?

What can verified public servants do?

What are cross-posted bills?

Federal Budget

What does the Budget page show?

Where does the budget data come from?

Stock Trading Tracker

What is the stock trading tracker?

How are suspicion scores calculated?

Lobbying & FARA

What lobbying data is available?

What is FARA?

Can I see which lobbying firms represent foreign governments?

Elections & Candidates

What does the Elections page show?

Can I see candidates in my state?

Where does candidate data come from?

Citizen-Proposed Bills

What are citizen-proposed bills?

How do I create a citizen bill?

AI-Generated Content

What content on Civix is generated by AI?

How accurate is AI-generated content?

What AI models does Civix use?

Executive Branch & Congressional Committees

What executive branch information is available?

What are congressional committees?

How is this different from political committees?

Privacy & Security

Is my personal information safe?

Can other users see my votes or comments?

How do I delete my account?

What happens to my data if I submit a government ID for verification?

Notifications & Settings

What notifications will I receive?

How do I update my profile information?

Can I change my email or password?

How do I enable push notifications?

How do I install Civix as an app on my phone?

How do I switch between dark and light mode?