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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 22, 2013 | KY | SB 39 | Requires Medicaid Expansion to be Approved by the Legislature | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 13) |
| Feb. 20, 2013 | AR | SB 2 | Requires Photo Identification to Vote | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 12) |
| Feb. 14, 2013 | MN | HF 9 | Expands Medicaid Eligibility | Bill Passed - Senate (45 - 22) |
| Feb. 14, 2013 | MN | HF 9 | Expands Medicaid Eligibility | Bill Passed - Senate (45 - 22) |
| Feb. 14, 2013 | National | PN 34 | Nomination of Charles Timothy Hagel to be Secretary of Defense | Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (58 - 40) |
| Feb. 14, 2013 | KY | SB 50 | Authorizes Industrial Hemp Farming | Bill Passed - Senate (31 - 6) |
| Feb. 14, 2013 | IA | SF 162 | Establishes the School Budget Growth for Fiscal Year 2014-2015 | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 22) |
| Feb. 13, 2013 | KY | SB 9 | Establishes Review Panels to Assess Nursing Home Lawsuits | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 12) |
| Feb. 12, 2013 | National | S 47 | Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 | Bill Passed - Senate (78 - 22) |
| Feb. 5, 2013 | VA | SB 1324 | Establishes Education Institution and Board | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 20) |
| Feb. 5, 2013 | VA | SB 719 | Amends Voting Requirements | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 20) |
| Feb. 5, 2013 | VA | SB 1256 | Requires Photo Identification for Voting | Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 20) |
| Jan. 31, 2013 | National | HR 325 | No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 | Bill Passed - Senate (64 - 34) |
| Jan. 30, 2013 | IA | SF 52 | Establishes the School Budget Growth for Fiscal Year 2013-2014 | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 23) |
| Jan. 30, 2013 | KS | SCR 1601 | Authorizes the Governor to Nominate Judges | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 12) |
| Jan. 30, 2013 | KS | SCR 1601 | Authorizes the Governor to Nominate Judges | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 12) |
| Jan. 30, 2013 | KS | SCR 1601 | Authorizes the Governor to Nominate Judges | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 12) |
| Jan. 29, 2013 | WI | SB 2 | Limits the Secretary of State's Role in Legislation | Bill Passed - Senate (17 - 14) |
| Jan. 29, 2013 | WI | SB 2 | Limits the Secretary of State's Role in Legislation | Bill Passed - Senate (17 - 14) |
| Jan. 28, 2013 | VA | SB 690 | Reduces the Number of Signatures Required to Run for President | Bill Passed - Senate (23 - 17) |
| Jan. 25, 2013 | WY | SF 104 | Establishes the Director Position in the Department of Education | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (21 - 9) |
| Jan. 25, 2013 | WY | SF 104 | Establishes the Director Position in the Department of Education | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (21 - 9) |