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. 1881 // August 3, 2015Needed 60 votes to end debate

Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to S. 1881

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

Won the vote · Nay

46 votes, representing 136,223,636 people55.1%of U.S. adults

Lost the vote · Yea

53 votes, representing 109,107,666 people44.1%of U.S. adults

The dotted gap is 0.8% of U.S. adults whose member did not vote, voted “present,” or whose seat was vacant.

Share of U.S. adults represented, the Senate
SideOutcomeVotesShare of U.S. adults
NayWon4655.1%
YeaLost5344.1%
Not represented on this questionNo position taken00.8%

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.