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On the Motion to Proceed S.Con.Res. 42

Date:

May 16, 2012

Number:

Senate Vote #100
112th Congress

Result:

Motion to Proceed Rejected

Source:

senate.gov

Track Votes
Totals     Democrat     Republican     Independent
  Yea 16
 
 
 
16%
0 16 0
  Nay 83
 
 
 
83%
51 30 2
Not Voting 1
 
 
 
1%
0 1 0
Required: Simple Majority

Vote Details

Notes: Minority Leader’s Vote

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R), the Minority Leader, voted Yea against his party.

Somtimes a party leader will vote on the winning side, even if it is against his or her position, to have the right to call for a new vote under a motion to reconsider. For more, see this explanation from The Washington Post.

We do not know the rationale behind any vote, however.

“Aye” or “Yea”?

“Aye” and “Yea” mean the same thing, and so do “No” and “Nay”. Congress uses different words in different sorts of votes.

The U.S. Constitution says that bills should be decided on by the “yeas and nays” (Article I, Section 7). Congress takes this literally and uses “yea” and “nay” when voting on the final passage of bills.

All Senate votes use these words. But the House of Representatives uses “Aye” and “No” in other sorts of votes.