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 // January 24, 2007Needed 60 votes to end debate

Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Gregg Amdt. No. 101

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

Won the vote · Nay

48 votes, representing 126,760,693 people55.8%of U.S. adults

Lost the vote · Yea

49 votes, representing 98,808,676 people43.5%of U.S. adults

The dotted gap is 0.7% 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
NayWon4855.8%
YeaLost4943.5%
Not represented on this questionNo position taken00.7%

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.