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: Cloture motion // June 20, 2005Needed 60 votes to end debate

Upon Reconsideration, Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Nomination of John R. Bolton, of Maryland, to be Representative of the United States to the United Nations

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

Won the vote · Nay

38 votes, representing 99,063,190 people46.1%of U.S. adults

Lost the vote · Yea

54 votes, representing 102,857,290 people47.9%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. The winning side fell 3.9 points short of a majority of the country.
SideOutcomeVotesShare of U.S. adults
NayWon3846.1%
YeaLost5447.9%
Not represented on this questionNo position taken06.0%

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