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 // March 20, 2012Needed 60 votes to end debate

Motion to Invoke Cloture on the Cantwell Amdt. No. 1836

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

Won the vote · Nay

44 votes, representing 95,166,047 people39.7%of U.S. adults

Lost the vote · Yea

55 votes, representing 139,608,611 people58.2%of U.S. adults

The dotted gap is 2.0% 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 10.3 points short of a majority of the country.
SideOutcomeVotesShare of U.S. adults
NayWon4439.7%
YeaLost5558.2%
Not represented on this questionNo position taken02.0%

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