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 // May 9, 2011Needed 60 votes to end debate

Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Nomination of James Michael Cole, of the District of Columbia, to be Deputy Attorney General

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

Won the vote · Nay

40 votes, representing 88,232,863 people37.2%of U.S. adults

Lost the vote · Yea

50 votes, representing 119,539,906 people50.4%of U.S. adults

The dotted gap is 12.4% 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 12.8 points short of a majority of the country.
SideOutcomeVotesShare of U.S. adults
NayWon4037.2%
YeaLost5050.4%
Not represented on this questionNo position taken012.4%

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