Voting record data provides the vote number, the bill number, description, the date of the vote, and vote tally for each bill introduced during a session of Congress. For each vote, you can record additional information. You can view the 20 most recent votes by clicking the Votes submenu link, or you can search for specific votes.
To search for votes:
Click the Legislative tab.
Click the Votes submenu link.
Select the New Search action.
Enter search criteria in fields on the Votes Search page.
Click the Go button. All votes that meet your criteria appear on the Search Results page.
Click the vote number link to go to the Vote record or select the Modify Search link if you're not satisfied with the results of your search.
The Voting Record Search page contains fields that let you enter criteria for searching for votes. IQ combines field information for a search, so that if you enter information in more than one field, you'll find actions that contain all the information you specified. The more information you enter on the Search page, the more specific your search will be. IQ searches one session of Congress for either the House or Senate, depending on your selection in the Chamber and Congressional Session fields.
Fields on the Voting Record Search page let you search for votes based on the responsible staff member, issue code, title or description, position, the vote date, and the Chamber considering the legislation. A vote must meet all criteria entered on this page for IQ to locate it with the search. Leave all fields blank for a listing of the 20 most recent votes. The following fields are available: Vote Title or Description, Issue, Assigned To, Office Notes , Vote Date, Chamber, Congressional Session, Vote Number, Sponsor, Bill Type, Bill Number and Member Comparison.
Enter a string of characters (in any case) to find votes for which the title or description contains that string. For example, a search for the string postal appropriations would locate votes with that string in either the beginning, middle or end of the title or description. You do not need to include wildcards (* or %), because IQ adds them. Use quotation marks to indicate an exact (case-sensitive) search. Use the connectors AND or OR between words to indicate a join search.
To limit your search to votes with a particular issue code, type a code in the Issue field or click the lookup icon to display and select from a list of available issue codes.
This field lets you search for votes that are assigned to an individual user, to multiple users, or to any members of a group. Click in the first field to select Users or Groups, and then click the search icon next to the second field to select from a list of users or groups.
Enter a string of characters (in any case) to find votes for which the Office Notes field contains that string. You do not need to include wildcards (* or %), because IQ adds them. Use quotation marks to indicate an exact (case-sensitive) search. Use the connectors AND or OR between words to indicate a join search.
To find votes recorded within a date range, enter a beginning date in the From field and an ending date in the To field by typing a date in the field or by clicking the calendar icon and selecting a date from the calendar that appears. Leave both fields blank to include all votes in your search, regardless of their date. Enter a date in the From field only to find all votes with dates equal to or greater than that date. Enter a date in the To field only to find all votes with dates less than or equal to the one in the To field.
Click in this field and select House or Senate to search for all legislation being considered by that Chamber.
This field automatically defaults to the current Congressional Session. Click in this field to select a different session of congress during which the votes occurred.
If you know the vote number of the record you are searching for, you can use it to find the record by typing the vote number in this field. To find multiple records, separate IDs with commas (82, 99) or search for a range by entering a hyphen between the IDs (90-95).
Enter the bill or amendment sponsor's name (in any case) to find votes for which the sponsor's name appears in italics (Rep Calvert, Ken [CA-44]) in the Vote Information section of the vote record. You do not need to include wildcards (* or %), because IQ adds them. Use quotation marks to indicate an exact (case-sensitive) search. Use the connectors AND or OR between words to indicate a join search.
Click in this field and select the type of Bill (HR, HRES, HCONRES, HJRES, S, SRES, SCONRES or SJRES) that is associated with the vote records that you are searching for. Leave this field blank to search for votes regardless of Bill Type.
If you know the Bill number of the vote record you are searching for, you can use it to find the record by typing the Bill number in this field. To find multiple records, separate IDs with commas (762, 764) or search for a range by entering a hyphen between the IDs (762-766).
You can analyze vote information to see how a Member voted on legislation. This analysis can show a Member’s Yes and/or No votes, Absent Not Voting or Present votes, and whether a Member voted with or against the Party, the Majority, or another Member. Click in the Member Comparison field and select an option from the list. IQ then displays another field, Member, with a list of members for the selected Chamber. Note that if you select Voted with Selected Member or Voted Against Selected Member, IQ will display a 2nd Member field so that you can select another member to compare against.