Key Votes

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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:

  1. The vote should be helpful in portraying how a member stands on a particular issue
  2. The vote should be clear for any person to understand
  3. The vote has received media attention
  4. The vote was passed or defeated by a very close margin
  5. Occasionally, if a specific bill is consistently inquired about on the Voter's Research Hotline, the vote will be added

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.


results per page:
Date State Bill No. Title Outcome
Feb. 16, 2026 VA HB 5 Requires Paid Sick Leave for Employees Bill Passed - House (63 - 35)
Feb. 5, 2026 NE LB 258 Amends Annual Increases to State Minimum Wage Down to a Fixed Rate Bill Passed - Senate (33 - 16)
Feb. 4, 2026 NY S 496 Requires Employers to Inform Their Employees of Certain Parties with Whom They May Share Otherwise Protected Information Bill Passed - Senate (62 - 0)
Feb. 2, 2026 National HR 980 Veterans Readiness and Employment Improvement Act of 2025 Bill Passed - House (402 - 2)
Jan. 15, 2026 National HR 2988 Protecting Prudent Investment of Retirement Savings Act Bill Passed - House (213 - 205)
Jan. 15, 2026 FL HB 197 Requires Businesses of All Sizes to Use the E-Verify System to Check Worker Eligibility Bill Passed - House (80 - 30)
Jan. 13, 2026 National HR 2262 Flexibility for Workers Education Act Bill Failed - House (209 - 215)
Jan. 7, 2026 MS SB 2003 Amends Regulations Regarding Retired Teachers' Benefits and Return-to-Work Authorizations Bill Passed - Senate (50 - 2)
Jan. 7, 2026 MS SB 2001 Increases Teacher Salaries by $2,000 Bill Passed - Senate (52 - 0)
Jan. 7, 2026 MS SB 2004 Appropriates Funds to the Mississippi Public Employees' Retirement System Bill Passed - Senate (52 - 0)

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