How Congress votes, and how to read a roll call

How a bill moves

1. Introduction. A member introduces a bill and it is referred to one or more committees.
2. Committee. The committee may hold hearings, mark up the text, and report the bill. Most bills stop here.
3. Floor scheduling. In the House, the Rules Committee usually reports a rule that sets debate terms. In the Senate, the majority leader typically seeks to proceed, and a motion to proceed can itself be filibustered.
4. Debate and amendments. Amendments are offered and voted on. An amendment vote can change the bill so much that later votes mean something different.
5. Cloture in the Senate. Ending debate on most legislation requires a three-fifths vote of senators duly chosen and sworn, ordinarily sixty votes. Cloture on most nominations requires a simple majority.
6. Final passage. A simple majority of those present and voting, with a quorum, passes a measure in either chamber.
7. The other chamber. The process repeats. Differences are resolved by amendment exchange or a conference.
8. The president. Signature, veto, or allowing a bill to become law without a signature. A veto override requires two-thirds of each chamber.

The vote types you will see

• Motion to proceed. Whether the chamber will take up the measure at all.
• Cloture. Whether debate ends. Failing cloture usually stops a bill without a vote on its content.
• Motion to table. A vote to set something aside, which kills it without a direct vote on its merits.
• Amendment. Whether specific text is added or removed.
• Recommittal. A last chance in the House to send a bill back to committee, often with instructions.
• Final passage. Whether the chamber approves the measure as it stands.
• Nomination. Confirmation of a person, not a policy.

How to read a record honestly

• Start with the question line and the bill number, not the headline.
• Check the date and whether the text was amended before that vote.
• Note whether the member was present. Not voting is not the same as voting no.
• Look at the sequence of votes on the same measure before summarizing a position.
• Link the official record so a reader can check your reading.

What we will not do

We do not build a numeric score that reduces a member’s record to a single number, and we do not infer a position from party membership. When we describe a vote, we name the chamber, the vote number, the date, the question, and the result, and we link the official page.

Where the records live

The Clerk of the House publishes House roll calls by year. The Senate publishes roll calls by Congress and session. Congress.gov publishes the bill text, the full action history, committee reports, and links to the votes. Our congressional records guide explains how to move between them.