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

The U.S. falls short of this goal.

Activate to continue

Spoken For.
Senate vote: S. 2232 // January 12, 2016Needed 60 votes to end debate

Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Proceed to S. 2232

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

Won the vote · Nay

44 votes, representing 131,408,565 people52.8%of U.S. adults

Lost the vote · Yea

53 votes, representing 102,591,944 people41.2%of U.S. adults

The dotted gap is 6.0% of U.S. adults whose member did not vote, voted “present,” or whose seat was vacant.

Share of U.S. adults represented, the Senate
SideOutcomeVotesShare of U.S. adults
NayWon4452.8%
YeaLost5341.2%
Not represented on this questionNo position taken06.0%

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.