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
June 13, 2019 NY A 2371 Prohibits Exemption from Vaccinations Based on Religious Beliefs Bill Passed - Senate (36 - 26)
May 23, 2019 CA SB 360 Requires Religious Officials Report Minor Sex Abuse Evidence to Law Enforcement Bill Passed - Senate (30 - 4)
May 16, 2019 TX SB 1978 Prohibits Government Action Against Businesses that Donate to Religious Organizations Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 12)
April 29, 2019 FL HB 741 Prohibits "Anti-Semitic Speech" at Public Schools, Colleges, and Universities Bill Passed - Senate (40 - 0)
April 3, 2019 TX SB 17 Authorizes Protections for Lawyers that Deny Clients Based on Religious Exemptions Bill Passed - Senate (19 - 12)
Feb. 4, 2019 VA SB 1502 Requires School Boards to Offer Classes on the Bible Bill Passed - Senate (22 - 18)

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