Attendance
The Constitution specifies that a majority of members constitutes a quorum to do business in each house.
Representatives and senators rarely force the presence of a quorum by demanding quorum calls; thus, in most cases, debates continue
even if a majority is not present.
The Senate uses roll-call votes; a clerk calls out the names of all the senators, each senator stating "aye" or "no"
when his or her name is announced. The House reserves roll-call votes for the most formal matters, as a roll-call of
all 435 representatives takes quite some time; normally, members vote by electronic device. In the case of a tie, the
motion in question fails. In the Senate, the Vice President may (if present) cast the tiebreaking vote.
Senate at a glance
Party |
N° of Reps |
% Voted w/ Party |
Republicans |
{{partidoR.length}} |
{{(sumVotesR / (sumVotesID + sumVotesR + sumVotesD) * 100).toFixed(2)}} % |
Democrats |
{{partidoD.length}} |
{{(sumVotesD / (sumVotesID + sumVotesR + sumVotesD) * 100).toFixed(2)}} % |
Independents |
{{partidoID.length}} |
{{(sumVotesID / (sumVotesID + sumVotesR + sumVotesD) * 100).toFixed(2)}} % |
Total |
{{partidoID.length + partidoR.length + partidoD.length}} |
100% |