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
May 8, 2026 AL HB 1 Authorizes a Special Primary Election for Congressional Districts Affected by a Federal Court Ruling Bill Passed - Senate (27 - 8)
May 7, 2026 TN HB 7003 Amends the Congressional Districts Established Following the 2020 Census Bill Passed - Senate (25 - 5)
May 6, 2026 AL SB 1 Authorizes a Special Primary Election for State Senate Districts Affected by a Federal Court Ruling Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 7)
April 29, 2026 National S J Res 99 A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services relating to "Removal of the Automatic Extension of Employment Authorization Documents" Motion Agreed - Senate (47 - 50)
April 29, 2026 National S J Res 139 A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to "Air Plan Disapproval; Colorado; Regional Haze Plan for the Second Implementation Period" Motion Rejected - Senate (46 - 52)
March 4, 2026 National S J Res 104 A joint resolution to direct the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress Motion Rejected - Senate (47 - 53)
Jan. 26, 2026 SD SJR 501 Amends the State Constitution to Establish Term Limits for Members of the Legislature Bill Passed - Senate (20 - 14)

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