Vote Smart provides easy access to congressional and state voting records and maintains a collection of key votes grouped by issue. Vote Smart uses the following criteria to select key votes:
Vote Smart provides a summary of the version of the bill text associated with each selected key vote. Our summaries are written by Vote Smart's staff and interns, who adhere to our strict policies and procedures in order to guarantee absolute impartiality and accuracy. They do not necessarily reflect the content of the final version of the bill, but rather the version voted on in that stage. While many procedural votes take place before a full chamber vote, our voting stages reflect the final reading of each chamber vote. Each key vote selection is reviewed by the project's community of advisors, who are political scientists and journalists from all fifty states.
For more information about the legislative process, see here.
| Date | State | Bill No. | Title | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 27, 2010 | National | HR 4899 | Fiscal Year 2009-2010 Supplemental Appropriations | Bill Passed - Senate (67 - 28) |
| May 10, 2010 | TN | HB 270 | Citizenship Status for Voting and Registration | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 12) |
| April 19, 2010 | AZ | SB 1070 | Expanding Undocumented Immigration Enforcement | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (17 - 11) |
| March 30, 2010 | GA | SB 67 | English Only Requirement for Driver's License Examinations | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (39 - 11) |
| March 24, 2010 | MD | SB 778 | Prohibits Public Schools from Sending Vocational Test Scores to Military Recruiters | Bill Passed - Senate (24 - 23) |
| March 24, 2010 | OH | SB 150 | County Sheriff Assistance with Federal Immigration Law Enforcement | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 10) |
| March 24, 2010 | OH | SB 35 | State Enforcement of Federal Immigration Law | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 11) |
| March 8, 2010 | UT | SB 44 | Extending CHIP and Medicaid Coverage to Children of Documented Immigrants | Bill Failed - Senate (13 - 14) |
| Feb. 15, 2010 | AZ | SB 1070 | Expanding Undocumented Immigration Enforcement | Bill Passed - Senate (17 - 13) |
| Oct. 22, 2009 | National | HR 2647 | 2009-2010 Defense Appropriations | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (68 - 29) |
| Oct. 22, 2009 | National | HR 2647 | 2009-2010 Defense Appropriations | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (68 - 29) |
| Oct. 20, 2009 | National | HR 2892 | 2009-2010 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Authorizations | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (79 - 19) |
| Oct. 20, 2009 | National | HR 2892 | 2009-2010 Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Authorizations | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (79 - 19) |
| Oct. 1, 2009 | National | S Amdt 2575 | U.S. Military Commanders to Testify Before Congress | Amendment Rejected - Senate (40 - 59) |
| July 21, 2009 | National | S Amdt 1469 | Repealing Funding for F-22 Aircraft Procurement | Amendment Adopted - Senate (58 - 40) |
| July 8, 2009 | National | S Amdt 1399 | Requiring Completion of Reinforced Border Fencing | Amendment Adopted - Senate (54 - 44) |
| July 8, 2009 | National | S Amdt 1399 | Requiring Completion of Reinforced Border Fencing | Amendment Adopted - Senate (54 - 44) |
| June 16, 2009 | SC | S 351 | State Ports Authority Amendments | Veto Override Passed - Senate (35 - 9) |
| June 3, 2009 | ME | LD 1357 | Relating to Driver's License and Identification Card Regulations | Veto Override Failed - Senate (7 - 28) |
| June 3, 2009 | ME | LD 1357 | Relating to Driver's License and Identification Card Regulations | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 17) |
| June 1, 2009 | NV | SB 52 | New Standards for Drivers Licenses and Identification Cards | Bill Passed - Senate (12 - 9) |
| April 16, 2009 | CA | SB 242 | Prohibiting Language Discrimination | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 15) |
| April 6, 2009 | CO | SB 170 | Expanding In-State Tuition Eligibility | Motion Rejected - Senate (16 - 18) |
| April 3, 2009 | GA | HB 2 | Citizenship Status Verification of Government Assistance Recipients | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (38 - 16) |
| April 3, 2009 | GA | SB 86 | Requiring Proof of Citizenship for Voter Registration | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (30 - 13) |