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 17, 2010Needed 60 votes to end debate

Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 4213, with the Baucus Amdt. No. 4369

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

Won the vote · Nay

40 votes, representing 82,834,242 people35.3%of U.S. adults

Lost the vote · Yea

56 votes, representing 145,980,309 people62.2%of U.S. adults

The dotted gap is 2.5% 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 14.7 points short of a majority of the country.
SideOutcomeVotesShare of U.S. adults
NayWon4035.3%
YeaLost5662.2%
Not represented on this questionNo position taken02.5%

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