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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 21, 2025 | National | PN 11-19 | Nomination of John Ratcliffe to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency | Motion Agreed - Senate (54 - 46) |
| Jan. 21, 2025 | National | PN 11-7 | Nomination of Peter Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense | Motion Agreed - Senate (53 - 47) |
| Jan. 21, 2025 | VA | SJR 249 | Establishes a Constitutional Amendment Protecting Marriage Equality | Joint Resolution Passed - Senate (24 - 15) |
| Jan. 21, 2025 | DE | SB 42 | Amends Previous Changes Made to the State Judicial Pension Plan | Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 0) |
| Jan. 20, 2025 | National | S 5 | Laken Riley Act | Bill Passed - Senate (64 - 35) |
| Jan. 20, 2025 | National | PN 11-13 | Nomination of Marco Rubio to be Secretary of State | Nomination Confirmed - Senate (99 - 0) |
| Jan. 20, 2025 | WY | HB 32 | Establishes Statutory Definitions for "Man", "Woman", and "Biological Sex" | Bill Passed - House (50 - 9) |
| Jan. 20, 2025 | WY | HB 32 | Establishes Statutory Definitions for "Man", "Woman", and "Biological Sex" | Bill Passed - House (50 - 9) |
| Jan. 17, 2025 | National | S 5 | Laken Riley Act | Cloture Invoked - Senate (61 - 35) |
| Jan. 17, 2025 | MT | HB 76 | Establishes a Certification Process for Family Peer Support Specialists | Bill Passed - House (69 - 29) |
| Jan. 16, 2025 | National | HR 30 | Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act | Bill Passed - House (274 - 145) |
| Jan. 16, 2025 | National | HR 30 | Preventing Violence Against Women by Illegal Aliens Act | Bill Passed - House (274 - 145) |
| Jan. 16, 2025 | AR | HB 1056 | Establishes a Joint Committee on Military and Veterans Affairs | Bill Passed - House (98 - 0) |
| Jan. 16, 2025 | MT | HB 121 | Requires Individuals to Use Facilities that Correspond with Their Biological Sex at Birth | Bill Passed - House (58 - 41) |
| Jan. 14, 2025 | National | HR 28 | Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act | Bill Passed - House (218 - 206) |
| Jan. 14, 2025 | National | HR 28 | Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act | Bill Passed - House (218 - 206) |
| Jan. 14, 2025 | ME | SP 97 | Limits the Use of Vague Placeholder Bills | Joint Resolution Passed - Senate (22 - 12) |
| Jan. 14, 2025 | MO | HR 7 | Establishes Rules of the State House of Representatives for the 103rd General Assembly | Resolution Passed - House (106 - 54) |
| Jan. 14, 2025 | VA | HJR 9 | Establishes a Constitutional Amendment Protecting Marriage Equality | Joint Resolution Passed - House (58 - 35) |
| Jan. 14, 2025 | NY | S 757 | Authorizes Local Social Services Districts to Use Child Care Block Grant Funds for the Presumptive Eligibility Period | Bill Passed - Senate (60 - 0) |
| Jan. 14, 2025 | NY | S 784 | Repeals Subsidies for Adoptive Parents of Disabled or Hard-to-Place Children if They No Longer Support Them | Bill Passed - Senate (57 - 3) |
| Jan. 13, 2025 | National | S 5 | Laken Riley Act | Motion Agreed - Senate (82 - 10) |
| Jan. 8, 2025 | National | S 5 | Laken Riley Act | Cloture Invoked - Senate (84 - 9) |
| Jan. 7, 2025 | IL | HB 5164 | Amends the Clerks of the Court Act to Reduce State Requirements for Name Changes | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (71 - 38) |
| Jan. 7, 2025 | National | HR 29 | Laken Riley Act | Bill Passed - House (264 - 159) |