In a perfect democracy, at least 50% of people would support every decision.

The U.S. falls short of this goal.

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Spoken For.
Senate vote: S. 22 // May 8, 2006Needed 60 votes to end debate

Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to S.22

Who won, and how much of the country was behind them

Won the vote · Nay

42 votes, representing 106,256,458 people47.2%of U.S. adults

Lost the vote · Yea

48 votes, representing 102,754,762 people45.6%of U.S. adults

The dotted gap is 7.2% of U.S. adults whose member did not vote, voted “present,” or whose seat was vacant.

Share of U.S. adults represented, the Senate. The winning side fell 2.8 points short of a majority of the country.
SideOutcomeVotesShare of U.S. adults
NayWon4247.2%
YeaLost4845.6%
Not represented on this questionNo position taken07.2%

Senate This vote needed 60 yes votes to pass, more than the usual majority. It's called cloture, and it means a side with a majority of votes can still lose.