Congressional Documents: Floor Votes

Methods of Voting on the Floor

Generally, a recorded vote is one "in which members are recorded by name for or against a measure".

Guide to Congress. 6th ed., p. 1297.

In the Senate, there are commonly two types of votes: voice votes and roll call votes. Only the roll call vote is a recorded vote.

In the House, there are four types of votes. Two types are recorded: recorded votes and yeas and nays. Voice votes and division votes are not recorded votes.

Guide to Congress. 6th ed., pp. 582-583, 1288-1289, 1297, 1298, 1302.

CQ Almanac (Online, 1945-2020)
Govt Index JK1 .C66 (Print volumes, 1945-2020)
CQ Vote Studies: Party Unity; Presidential Support

Almanac of American Politics (online, 2000-; print, 1974-) Best Bet
Main Ref JK 1012 .A44 or Main Libr JK 1012 .A44
Group Ratings (of 10 interest groups). National Journal Ratings (relative liberalism and conservatism).

Politics in America, 1990-2014 (ceased)
Main Ref JK 1010 .P64, Main Libr JK 1010 .P64
Similar to Almanac of American Politics. A volume is issued for each Congress. Organized by state, it includes for each member: biography, committees, key votes, CQ Vote Studies, election results, party unity, presidential support, and interest group ratings; and for members of the House, description of the district. Also includes committees, campaign finance, state profiles, member statistics, House and Senate committee rosters, etc.

Congressional Roll Call
1969, 1972-2013
Main Ref JK1 .C6635
Includes party unity, presidential support, key votes, roll call votes, etc.

National journal (online)
1994-
Main Periodical (print)
v.9:43- 1977-
(Use PAIS to search for some of the articles published in National Journal before our electronic subscription begins in 1994.)
Vote Ratings (relative liberalism and conservatism) included in a February issue.

Senate Record Votes
1987-2004 (100th-108th)
Issued as committee prints.
The Senate Democratic Policy Committee or the Senate Republican Policy Committee prepared these compilations of Senate voting records and analyses for rollcall votes for each session of Congress, 1987-2004. Included: party cohesion, measure of party support on this vote.
To find these, search on "Senate Record Votes" in one of the sources for or indexes to Committee Prints.

How to Find Congressional Votes, U.S. Senate.

These are resources that provide lists of members who voted (in a recorded vote) on a particular bill on the floor of the House or Senate. These are not necessarily the best resources for examining or compiling the voting record of a particular member.

Sources that are particularly easy to use for the given congresses/years are marked as a Best Bet. If you want to use an authoritative primary source (Congressional Record and its predecessors, Journal of the House of Representatives of the United States and Journal of the Senate of the United States), consider beginning with an easier to use source, if available, to determine whether the vote was recorded and to collect the date and the vote number. This information may facilitate using the primary sources.

In most cases, begin by finding (a) the bill number and (b) the year or the congress number and session of the bill whose vote you are looking for.