Frequently Asked Questions About How Congress Votes

Congress decides most questions one of two ways. In a voice vote, members answer together and no individual positions are kept. In a roll-call vote, each member’s name and position are recorded and published by the chamber. This site tracks every recorded roll call in the 119th Congress, linked to the official record.

A roll-call vote records each member’s individual position by name: yea, nay, or present, plus who did not vote. The House Clerk and Senate.gov publish the full list for every roll call. Those member-by-member records are the raw material for every scorecard and vote page on this site.

Because a voice vote leaves no individual record. Members answer together, the chair judges which side prevailed, and no names or tallies are written down. Only roll-call votes produce a member-by-member record, so only roll calls can appear in our data. Scores and vote pages are built entirely from them.

Yea is a yes vote and nay is a no vote on whatever question the chamber is deciding, whether that is a bill, an amendment, or a procedural motion. The House also records votes as aye and no on some questions; the meaning is the same. Present means neither yes nor no.

Voting present records that a member was on the floor but took no position: neither yea nor nay. Members do it to avoid conflicts of interest, to register a protest, or for strategic reasons. Present votes never count toward passage, though they do count as showing up in our attendance scores.

Passing a bill takes a simple majority of members present and voting in each chamber, usually 218 of 435 in the House and 51 of 100 in the Senate. The same text must pass both chambers, and the president must then sign it or let it become law without a signature.

Sixty. Ending a filibuster takes a cloture vote, and cloture on most legislation needs three-fifths of the full Senate, 60 of 100 senators. That threshold, not final passage, is where most contested bills live or die, because a bill that cannot reach 60 usually never gets a final vote.

A veto override takes a two-thirds vote in both chambers, 290 of 435 in the House and 67 of 100 in the Senate when every member votes. Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution sets that threshold. Both chambers must clear it; if either falls short, the veto stands.

Formally, no. The Constitution requires a majority of each chamber to be present to do business: 218 members in the House and 51 senators. In practice, chambers assume a quorum exists unless a member suggests otherwise, so plenty of routine work happens with far fewer people on the floor.

A cloture vote is the Senate’s only way to force an end to debate. If three-fifths of the full Senate, 60 senators, vote yes, remaining debate time is capped and the measure moves toward a final vote. Failing to invoke cloture is how a filibuster wins. The rule dates to 1917.

The House is majoritarian: a simple majority can end debate with the previous question motion and pass almost anything, so 218 votes control the chamber. The Senate allows the filibuster: debate runs until 60 senators vote to end it, so most legislation effectively needs a supermajority there. That one rule difference shapes nearly every fight in Congress.

Every member of Congress has a scorecard page here with their recent votes, party loyalty, and attendance; find yours through the scorecards directory or your state’s delegation page. For the complete official history, Congress.gov keeps every roll call on record. Each vote on our pages links straight to that source.

It depends on the calendar. Both chambers typically record votes several days a week while in session, then none at all during recesses and district work periods. Some days bring a dozen roll calls, others zero. Our votes today page shows what each chamber has recorded, updated daily from official records.

Three official sources: the Congress.gov API for House votes and member data, the House Clerk’s roll-call records, and the Senate’s own vote XML at Senate.gov. An automated job refetches everything once a day and recomputes every score. The methodology page documents each formula, and the about page covers the project.

No. Congress Vote Tracker is a private, independent civic project with no connection to the U.S. government, Congress, any agency, or any campaign. We publish the official public record and link every number back to its source, so you never have to take our word for anything. See the about page.