Vote Smart provides easy access to congressional and state voting records and maintains a collection of key votes grouped by issue. Vote Smart uses the following criteria to select key votes:
Vote Smart provides a summary of the version of the bill text associated with each selected key vote. Our summaries are written by Vote Smart's staff and interns, who adhere to our strict policies and procedures in order to guarantee absolute impartiality and accuracy. They do not necessarily reflect the content of the final version of the bill, but rather the version voted on in that stage. While many procedural votes take place before a full chamber vote, our voting stages reflect the final reading of each chamber vote. Each key vote selection is reviewed by the project's community of advisors, who are political scientists and journalists from all fifty states.
For more information about the legislative process, see here.
Date | State | Bill No. | Title | Outcome |
---|---|---|---|---|
Oct. 14, 2020 | VA | SB 5030 | Establishes and Amends Various Provisions Relating to Law Enforcement | Conference Report Adopted - House (52 - 34) |
Oct. 16, 2020 | VA | SB 5007 | Authorizes Defendants to Be Sentenced by a Judge Rather Than a Jury | Conference Report Adopted - House (55 - 43) |
Oct. 14, 2020 | VA | HB 5099 | Prohibits No-Knock Search Warrants | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (22 - 16) |
March 8, 2020 | VA | HB 1250 | Establishes the "Community Policing Act" | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (22 - 17) |
March 3, 2020 | WA | SB 5165 | Prohibits Discrimination Based on Citizenship or Immigration Status | Bill Passed - House (57 - 39) |
Oct. 14, 2020 | VA | SB 5030 | Establishes and Amends Various Provisions Relating to Law Enforcement | Conference Report Adopted - Senate (21 - 17) |
Oct. 14, 2020 | VA | HB 5099 | Prohibits No-Knock Search Warrants | Conference Report Adopted - House (56 - 41) |
March 7, 2020 | VA | HB 1250 | Establishes the "Community Policing Act" | Conference Report Adopted - House (62 - 35) |
March 9, 2020 | WA | HB 1783 | Establishes the Washington State Office of Equity | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (57 - 39) |
Jan. 17, 2020 | WA | SB 5165 | Prohibits Discrimination Based on Citizenship or Immigration Status | Bill Passed - Senate (26 - 20) |
Aug. 31, 2020 | CA | SB 629 | Establishes Legal Protection for Journalists Attending Protest Demonstrations | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (31 - 2) |
June 23, 2020 | GA | HB 426 | Increase Penalties for Bias-Motivated Crime | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (127 - 38) |
Oct. 2, 2020 | VA | HB 5093 | Expands the Violation of a Pandemic-Related Executive Order to Include a Fine | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (59 - 37) |
Aug. 31, 2020 | CA | AB 331 | Establishes One Credit of Ethnic and Racial Studies as a High School Graduation Requirement | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (62 - 12) |
Aug. 31, 2020 | CA | AB 2542 | Prohibits Racial Discrimination in Criminal Courts | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (49 - 16) |
Aug. 31, 2020 | CA | SB 1102 | Requires Employers to Provide H-2A Employees with a Written Notice of their Rights | Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (28 - 10) |
Aug. 30, 2020 | CA | AB 979 | Requires Corporations to Have Directors From Under-Represented Groups | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (56 - 8) |
July 21, 2020 | NY | A 5630 | Amends Various Power of Attorney Laws | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (95 - 47) |
July 1, 2020 | NH | HB 1645 | Amend Various Law Enforcement Policies | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (255 - 74) |
March 4, 2020 | VA | HB 623 | Repeals the State Statutory Same-Sex Marriage Ban and Amends State Gender-Neutral Terms | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (53 - 43) |
March 7, 2020 | WV | HB 4176 | Establishes the West Virginia Intelligence/Fusion Center Act | Concurrence Vote Passed - House (88 - 11) |
March 5, 2020 | WA | HB 1783 | Establishes the Washington State Office of Equity | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 21) |
Jan. 31, 2020 | WA | SB 5339 | Repeals the Death Penalty | Bill Passed - Senate (28 - 18) |
March 12, 2020 | NH | HB 1660 | Establishes a Protective Order for Vulnerable Adults | "Ought to Pass" Report Adopted - Senate (14 - 10) |
March 3, 2020 | VA | HB 623 | Repeals the State Statutory Same-Sex Marriage Ban and Amends State Gender-Neutral Terms | (24 - 16) |