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 28, 2008Needed 60 votes to end debate

Motion to Invoke Cloture on Amdt. No. 3911 to S. 2248

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

Won the vote · Nay

45 votes, representing 121,132,299 people52.7%of U.S. adults

Lost the vote · Yea

48 votes, representing 90,650,099 people39.5%of U.S. adults

The dotted gap is 7.8% 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
NayWon4552.7%
YeaLost4839.5%
Not represented on this questionNo position taken07.8%

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.