Government Glossary

Roll Call Vote

Short Definition

A vote that records the individual position of each Member who voted. Such votes occurring on the House floor (by the.

Long Explanation

A vote that records the individual position of each Member who voted. Such votes occurring on the House floor (by the “yeas and nays” or by “recorded vote”) are taken by electronic device. The Senate has no electronic voting system; in such votes, Senators answer “yea” or “nay” as the clerk calls each name aloud. Each vote is compiled by clerks and receives a roll call number (referenced in Congress.gov as a “Record Vote” [Senate] or “Roll no.” [House]). See Roll Call Votes by the U.S. Congress.

In practice, Roll Call Vote is useful because it helps a visitor connect a word or phrase to law making, committee work, oversight, votes, or congressional records. When you see the term in an official source, ask which office has authority, what decision is being made, which deadline or rule matters, and where the public record can be checked.

Examples

Simple exampleA visitor sees “Roll Call Vote” while reading about a bill and uses Congress.gov or a committee page to find the official record.

Civic exampleA citizen trying to follow lawmaking checks the bill text, committee action, vote record, and chamber rules before relying on a summary.

Common Misconception

A common mistake is treating Roll Call Vote as a complete explanation of what Congress did. The term is usually a starting point. To know what happened, check the bill text, committee action, chamber record, and vote information where available.

Related Terms

CongressGovernment ResourcesHouseLegislative BranchLegislative ProcessSenaterecorded vote

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