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Order Code RS20199
Updated March 28, 2003
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Ordering a Rolicall Vote in the Senate
Betsy Palmer
Analyst in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Stanley Bach
Senior Specialist in the Legislative Process
Government and Finance Division
Any time the Senate is considering a question-whether that question is a bill,
amendment, motion, conference report, or something else-a Senator who has the floor
can ask for the yeas and nays or a roll call vote on that question. This is the
constitutional right of any Senator, and no other lawmaker can object to the request. If
such a request is supported by 10 other Senators (for a total of 11) this usually requires
the Senate to conduct a rollcall vote (also called a vote by the yeas and nays) to decide
the question it is considering. The Senate can agree to order a rollcall vote on a question
at any time when it is debating that question. Ordering the yeas and nays does not
determine when that vote will take place. For more information on legislative process,
see [http://www.crs.gov/products/guides/guidehome.shtml ].
The authority for Senators to obtain rollcall votes derives from Article I, Section 5,
clause 3 of the Constitution, which states that: the yeas and nays of the members of
either house on any question shall, at the desire of one fifth of those present, be entered
on the Journal. The Constitution also provides that a majority of each [house] shall
constitute a quorum to do business. Therefore, one fifth of those present to order the
yeas and nays must be one-fifth of at least 51 Senators (or at least 11 Senators), which is
the minimal majority required to satisfy the constitutional quorum requirement. A smaller
number of Senators cannot order a rollcall vote, even by unanimous consent, because the
Senate may not set aside any constitutional requirement governing its proceedings.
It requires unanimous consent to ask for the yeas and nays on a question that is not
formally before the Senate for consideration. If several first- and second-degree
amendments have been offered, for example, then except by unanimous consent, it is in
order to ask for the yeas and nays only on the amendment that is the pending
question-that is, the first amendment on which the Senate is to vote. A Senator,
however, may ask for the yeas and nays on final passage of a bill while an amendment to
the bill is pending.
When a Senator asks for the yeas and nays, the presiding officer responds by asking,
Is there a sufficient second? Senators who support the request for a rollcall vote then
raise their hands to be counted. The support of 11 Senators, usually constitutes a
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