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Jerry Costello's Ratings and Endorsements on Issue: Civil Liberties and Civil Rights

Vote Smart displays all known interest group ratings for each candidate and official, regardless of issue or bias.

Keep in mind that ratings done by special interest groups often do not represent a non-partisan stance. In addition, some groups select votes that tend to favor members of one political party over another, rather than choosing votes based solely on issue concerns. Nevertheless, they can be invaluable in showing where an incumbent has stood on a series of votes in the past one or two years, especially when ratings by groups on all sides of an issue are compared. Website links, if available, and descriptions of the organizations offering performance evaluations are accessible by clicking on the name of the group.

With rare exceptions, Vote Smart displays interest group ratings as a 0-100 percentage. While many interest groups use percentages as ratings to begin with, please note that Vote Smart has translated some ratings to a percentage from a different rating system for consistency and ease in understanding. Please visit the group's website, email us at ratings@votesmart.org or call our Voter Information Hotline at 1-888-VOTESMART for more specific information.

0%
1997-1998
100%
2004
74%
2011
100
2008
100
2007
38%
2005
86%
2004
83%
2003
11%
2012
0%
2006-2012
0%
2006-2012
50%
2009-2010
50%
2009-2010
55%
2007-2008
55%
2007-2008
25%
2005-2006
25%
2005-2006
22%
2003-2004
22%
2003-2004
33%
2001-2002
33%
2001-2002
33%
2001
30%
1999-2000
30%
1999-2000
36%
1999
25%
1997-1998
25%
1997-1998
22%
1995-1996
22%
1995-1996
100%
2007
0%
2007
100%
2007
67%
2007
31%
1991-1992
100%
2007
47%
2001-2002
7%
2009
46%
2007
12%
2007
38%
2005
25%
2005
50%
2005
23%
2004
35
2003
35
2003
35
2003
44
2002
44
2002
44
2002
33%
2001
37%
2000
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