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 5, 2012 | CT | HB 5024 | Authorizes Election Day Registration | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 16) |
| May 2, 2012 | NH | HB 536 | Repeals License Requirement to Carry a Firearm | Bill Tabled - Senate (17 - 7) |
| May 2, 2012 | CO | SB 117 | Establishes Limits for Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana | Bill Passed - Senate (18 - 17) |
| April 26, 2012 | National | S 1925 | Reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act | Bill Passed - Senate (68 - 31) |
| April 26, 2012 | National | S 1925 | Reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act | Bill Passed - Senate (68 - 31) |
| April 26, 2012 | CO | SB 2 | Authorizes Civil Unions | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 12) |
| April 25, 2012 | TN | SB 2580 | Requires Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients | Bill Passed - Senate (24 - 9) |
| April 24, 2012 | AZ | SB 1182 | Prohibits Enforcement of Certain Provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (20 - 8) |
| April 20, 2012 | KY | HB 1 | Requires Use of Prescription Monitoring System by Physicians | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 12) |
| April 19, 2012 | CT | SB 245 | Authorizes People to Record Police Officers | Bill Passed - Senate (24 - 11) |
| April 19, 2012 | CT | SB 245 | Authorizes People to Record Police Officers | Bill Passed - Senate (24 - 11) |
| April 12, 2012 | AZ | HB 2729 | Authorizes Guns in Certain Public Buildings | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 11) |
| April 12, 2012 | AZ | HB 2729 | Authorizes Guns in Certain Public Buildings | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 11) |
| April 10, 2012 | MS | HB 921 | Requires Photo Identification to Vote | Bill Passed - Senate (34 - 14) |
| April 9, 2012 | LA | SB 303 | Limits Gun Regulations | Bill Passed - Senate (31 - 6) |
| April 5, 2012 | MN | HF 2738 | Requires Photo Identification to Vote | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (35 - 29) |
| April 5, 2012 | CO | HB 1271 | Repeals Direct Filing of Juveniles by Prosecutors | Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 13) |
| April 4, 2012 | AZ | HB 2434 | Requires Federal Agents to Notify Local Law Enforcement Prior to Taking Action | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 8) |
| April 4, 2012 | CT | SB 280 | Repeals the Death Penalty | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 16) |
| April 3, 2012 | AZ | HB 2199 | Authorizes Confidential Environmental Audits by Businesses | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 9) |
| April 3, 2012 | AZ | HB 2199 | Authorizes Confidential Environmental Audits by Businesses | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 9) |
| April 3, 2012 | AL | SB 396 | Compensation to Bridget Lee for Wrongful Incarceration | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 13) |
| April 3, 2012 | AL | SB 396 | Compensation to Bridget Lee for Wrongful Incarceration | Bill Passed - Senate (21 - 13) |
| March 30, 2012 | KY | SB 3 | Limits Over-the-Counter Purchases of Cold Medicine | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (29 - 8) |
| March 28, 2012 | ID | H 695 | Establishes a Legislative Legal Defense Fund | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 11) |