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. 3628 // September 23, 2010Needed 60 votes to end debate

Upon Reconsideration, Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to S. 3628

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

Won the vote · Nay

39 votes, representing 76,453,677 people32.6%of U.S. adults

Lost the vote · Yea

59 votes, representing 148,779,878 people63.4%of U.S. adults

The dotted gap is 4.0% 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 17.4 points short of a majority of the country.
SideOutcomeVotesShare of U.S. adults
NayWon3932.6%
YeaLost5963.4%
Not represented on this questionNo position taken04.0%

Senate This side won even though more senators, and more Americans, voted the other way. Ending debate needed 60 votes here, not a majority.