# Congressional Roll Call and Other Record Votes: First Congress Through 108th Congress, 1789 Through 2004 > Briefs, arguments, decisions, and more. URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/crs%3ARL30562 ## Record - **Collection:** Congressional research report - **Document type:** CRS Report - **Published:** March 3, 2005 - **Citation:** RL30562 ## Text Congressional Roll Call and Other Record Votes: First Congress Through 108th Congress, 1789 Through 2004 name redacted March 3, 2005 Congressional Research Service 7-.... www.crs.gov RL30562 CRS Report for Congress Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Congressional Roll Call and Other Record Votes Summary This compilation provides information on roll call and other record votes taken in the House of Representatives and Senate from the first Congress through the 108th Congress, 1789 through 2004. Table 1 provides data for the House, the Senate, and both chambers together. Data provided include total record votes taken during each Congress, and the cumulative total record votes taken from the first Congress through the end of each subsequent Congress. The data for each Congress are also broken down by session, from the 80th Congress through the 108th Congress, 1947 through 2004. Figures 1 through 3 display the number of record votes in each chamber for each session from the 92nd Congress through 108th Congress, 1971 through 2004. They begin with 1971, the first year for which the House authorized record votes in the Committee of the Whole, pursuant to the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970. In the 108th Congress, there were 1,218 record votes in the House of Representatives and 675 record votes in the Senate. From 1789 through 2004, there were 92,206 such votes—46,017 votes in the House, and 46,189 votes in the Senate. This report will be updated following the conclusion of the 109th Congress, first session. Congressional Research Service Congressional Roll Call and Other Record Votes Contents Roll Call and Record Votes ...................................................................................................1 Figures Figure 1. Total Number of Record Votes, House of Representatives and Senate, 92nd Congress-108th Congress, 1971-2004 ..................................................................................... 10 Figure 2. Total Number of Record Votes (Yea/Nay and Recorded), House of Representatives, by Session, 92nd Congress-108th Congress, 1971-2004.................................. 11 Figure 3. Total Number of Record Votes, Senate, by Session, 92nd Congress-108th Congress, 1971-2004 ............................................................................................................. 12 Tables Table 1. Record Votes in Congress, First Congress Through 108th Congress, 1789 Through 2004 ..........................................................................................................................2 Contacts Author Contact Information ...................................................................................................... 13 Congressional Research Service Congressional Roll Call and Other Record Votes Roll Call and Record Votes This compilation provides information on record votes taken in the House of Representatives and Senate from the first Congress through the 108th Congress, 1789 through 2004. For purposes of this compilation, a “record vote” is defined as any vote for which public record is made of the votes cast by individual Members. In the Senate, all record votes are taken by a call of the roll,1 in which Members state their preference to a clerk. In the House, record votes are normally taken by electronic device, with Members inserting voting cards into a machine and pressing a button to record their preference. Before this system was installed in 1972 (and since, when the system has been unavailable), clerks recorded Members’ votes on the basis of the call of the roll, similarly to the Senate. Table 1 provides data on the record votes of the House and Senate, and both chambers together, from the first Congress through the 108h Congress, 1789 through 2004. It gives both the total number in, and the cumulative total through, each Congress. For example, in the first Congress (1789 through1790), there were 109 votes in the House and 100 in the Senate. In the 108th Congress, there were 1,218 record votes in the House of Representatives and 675 record votes in the Senate. From 1789 through 2004, there were 92,206 such votes—46,017 votes in the House, and 46,189 votes in the Senate. Following Table 1, three graphs display data on record votes in each chamber for each session of Congress from the 92nd through 108th Congress, 1971 through 2004. They begin with 1971, the first year for which the House authorized record votes in the Committee of the Whole, pursuant to the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1970. The first graph shows the total number of record votes for each Congress. The second and third graphs show, for the House and Senate respectively, the total number of record votes for each session of Congress. For the 80th Congress through the 108th Congress, 1947 through 2004, the period usually designated the “modern Congress,” the table also gives the total number of record votes in each chamber during each session of Congress. These data are not readily available for earlier Congresses.2 Thus, corresponding cells of the table for Congresses before the 80th Congress carry the notation “na.” For the House from the 92nd Congress through the 108th Congress, 1971 through 2004, the table also breaks down the record votes during each session into roll call votes (yea and nay votes) and recorded votes. For the earlier years, in which this distinction was not applicable, corresponding cells of the table carry the notation “n/a.” 1 “A roll call is a call of the roll to determine whether a quorum is present, to establish a quorum, or to vote on a question.” Walter Kravitz, Congressional Quarterly’s American Congressional Dictionary, Second Edition (Washington: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1997), p. 229. This report is concerned only with record votes and not voice, division, and unrecorded teller votes. See CQ’s American Congressional Dictionary for the definitions of the following terms relating to voting: automatic roll call, casting vote, cloture, cluster voting, constitutional votes, division vote, electronic voting, ghost voting, majority vote, proxy voting, Randolph rule, recapitulation of a vote, reconsideration of a vote, recorded vote, recorded vote by clerks, roll call, Speaker’s vote, teller vote, tie vote, voice vote, and yeas and nays. 2 In addition, in some of those earlier Congresses, three and occasionally even four sessions were held. Congressional Research Service 1 Table 1. Record Votes in Congress, First Congress Through 108th Congress, 1789 Through 2004 House of Representatives 1st Session Congress/ Years 2nd Session Senate All Sessions Both Chambers Roll Call (yea/nay) Votesa Recorded Votesb Session Total Roll Call (yea/nay) Votesa Recorded Votesb Session Total All Sessions Total Cumulative Total 1st Session 2nd Session All Sessions Total Cumulative Total Congress Total Cumulative Total 1 17891790 na n/a na na n/a na 109 109 na na 100 100 209 209 2 17911792 na n/a na na n/a na 102 211 na na 52 152 154 363 3 17931794 na n/a na na n/a na 69 280 na na 79 231 148 511 4 17951796 na n/a na na n/a na 83 363 na na 86 317 169 680 5 17971798 na n/a na na n/a na 155 518 na na 202 519 357 1,037 6 17991800 na n/a na na n/a na 96 614 na na 120 639 216 1,253 7 18011802 na n/a na na n/a na 141 755 na na 88 727 229 1,482 8 18031804 na n/a na na n/a na 132 887 na na 150 877 282 1,764 9 18051806 na n/a na na n/a na 158 1,045 na na 88 965 246 2,010 10 18071808 na n/a na na n/a na 237 1,282 na na 91 1,056 328 2,338 11 18091810 na n/a na na n/a na 293 1,575 na na 167 1,223 460 2,798 12 18111812 na n/a na na n/a na 314 1,889 na na 204 1,427 518 3,316 13 18131814 na n/a na na n/a na 352 2,241 na na 263 1,690 615 3,931 CRS-2 House of Representatives 1st Session Congress/ Years 2nd Session Senate All Sessions Both Chambers Roll Call (yea/nay) Votesa Recorded Votesb Session Total Roll Call (yea/nay) Votesa Recorded Votesb Session Total All Sessions Total Cumulative Total 1st Session 2nd Session All Sessions Total Cumulative Total Congress Total Cumulative Total 14 18151816 na n/a na na n/a na 113 2,354 na na 189 1,879 302 4,233 15 18171818 na n/a na na n/a na 106 2,460 na na 132 2,011 238 4,471 16 18191820 na n/a na na n/a na 147 2,607 na na 120 2,131 267 4,738 17 18211822 na n/a na na n/a na 95 2,702 na na 91 2,222 186 4,924 18 18231824 na n/a na na n/a na 94 2,796 na na 178 2,400 272 5,196 19 18251826 na n/a na na n/a na 111 2,907 na na 234 2,634 345 5,541 20 18271828 na n/a na na n/a na 233 3,140 na na 238 2,872 471 6,012 21 18291830 na n/a na na n/a na 273 3,413 na na 277 3,149 550 6,562 22 18311832 na n/a na na n/a na 462 3,875 na na 422 3,571 884 7,446 23 18331834 na n/a na na n/a na 327 4,202 na na 229 3,800 556 8,002 24 18351836 na n/a na na n/a na 459 4,661 na na 439 4,239 898 8,900 25 18371838 na n/a na na n/a na 475 5,136 na na 410 4,649 885 9,785 26 18391840 na n/a na na n/a na 751 5,887 na na 334 4,983 1,085 10,870 27 18411842 na n/a na na n/a na 974 6,861 na na 822 5,805 1,796 12,666 CRS-3 House of Representatives 1st Session Congress/ Years 2nd Session Senate All Sessions Both Chambers Roll Call (yea/nay) Votesa Recorded Votesb Session Total Roll Call (yea/nay) Votesa Recorded Votesb Session Total All Sessions Total Cumulative Total 1st Session 2nd Session All Sessions Total Cumulative Total Congress Total Cumulative Total 28 18431844 na n/a na na n/a na 597 7,458 na na 305 6,110 902 13,568 29 18451846 na n/a na na n/a na 642 8,100 na na 383 6,493 1,025 14,593 30 18471848 na n/a na na n/a na 478 8,578 na na 344 6,837 822 15,415 31 18491850 na n/a na na n/a na 572 9,150 na na 499 7,336 1,071 16,486 32 18511852 na n/a na na n/a na 455 9,605 na na 358 7,694 813 17,299 33 18531854 na n/a na na n/a na 607 10,212 na na 546 8,240 1,153 18,452 34 18551856 na n/a na na n/a na 729 10,941 na na 449 8,689 1,178 19,630 35 18571858 na n/a na na n/a na 548 11,489 na na 702 9,391 1,250 20,880 36 18591860 na n/a na na n/a na 433 11,922 na na 607 9,998 1,040 21,920 37 18611862 na n/a na na n/a na 638 12,560 na na 801 10,799 1,439 23,359 38 18631864 na n/a na na n/a na 600 13,160 na na 598 11,397 1,198 24,557 39 18651866 na n/a na na n/a na 613 13,773 na na 501 11,898 1,114 25,671 40 18671868 na n/a na na n/a na 717 14,490 na na 716 12,614 1,433 27,104 41 18691870 na n/a na na n/a na 634 15,124 na na 742 13,356 1,376 28,480 CRS-4 House of Representatives 1st Session Congress/ Years 2nd Session Senate All Sessions Both Chambers Roll Call (yea/nay) Votesa Recorded Votesb Session Total Roll Call (yea/nay) Votesa Recorded Votesb Session Total All Sessions Total Cumulative Total 1st Session 2nd Session All Sessions Total Cumulative Total Congress Total Cumulative Total 42 18711872 na n/a na na n/a na 517 15,641 na na 803 14,159 1,320 29,800 43 18731874 na n/a na na n/a na 475 16,116 na na 420 14,579 895 30,695 44 18751876 na n/a na na n/a na 328 16,444 na na 434 15,013 762 31,457 45 18771878 na n/a na na n/a na 377 16,821 na na 585 15,598 962 32,419 46 18791880 na n/a na na n/a na 439 17,260 na na 570 16,168 1,009 33,428 47 18811882 na n/a na na n/a na 349 17,609 na na 986 17,154 1,335 34,763 48 18831884 na n/a na na n/a na 334 17,943 na na 428 17,582 762 35,525 49 18851886 na n/a na na n/a na 306 18,249 na na 461 18,043 767 36,292 50 18871888 na n/a na na n/a na 320 18,569 na na 389 18,432 709 37,001 51 18891890 na n/a na na n/a na 587 19,156 na na 526 18,958 1,113 38,114 52 18911892 na n/a na na n/a na 304 19,460 na na 209 19,167 513 38,627 53 18931894 na n/a na na n/a na 373 19,833 na na 561 19,728 934 39,561 54 18951896 na n/a na na n/a na 162 19,995 na na 197 19,925 359 39,920 55 18971898 na n/a na na n/a na 183 20,178 na na 381 20,306 564 40,484 CRS-5 House of Representatives 1st Session Congress/ Years 2nd Session Senate All Sessions Both Chambers Roll Call (yea/nay) Votesa Recorded Votesb Session Total Roll Call (yea/nay) Votesa Recorded Votesb Session Total All Sessions Total Cumulative Total 1st Session 2nd Session All Sessions Total Cumulative Total Congress Total Cumulative Total 56 18991900 na n/a na na n/a na 149 20,327 na na 169 20,475 318 40,802 57 19011902 na n/a na na n/a na 185 20,512 na na 118 20,593 303 41,105 58 19031904 na n/a na na n/a na 87 20,599 na na 92 20,685 179 41,284 59 19051906 na n/a na na n/a na 136 20,735 na na 128 20,813 264 41,548 60 19071908 na n/a na na n/a na 312 21,047 na na 84 20,897 396 41,944 61 19091910 na n/a na na n/a na 202 21,249 na na 268 21,165 470 42,414 62 19111912 na n/a na na n/a na 262 21,511 na na 396 21,561 658 43,072 63 19131914 na n/a na na n/a na 282 21,793 na na 572 22,133 854 43,926 64 19151916 na n/a na na n/a na 157 21,950 na na 406 22,539 563 44,489 65 19171918 na n/a na na n/a na 266 22,216 na na 384 22,923 650 45,139 66 19191920 na n/a na na n/a na 339 22,555 na na 407 23,330 746 45,885 67 19211922 na n/a na na n/a na 362 22,917 na na 751 24,081 1,113 46,998 68 19231924 na n/a na na n/a na 179 23,096 na na 235 24,316 414 47,412 69 19251926 na n/a na na n/a na 114 23,210 na na 236 24,552 350 47,762 CRS-6 House of Representatives 1st Session Congress/ Years 2nd Session Senate All Sessions Both Chambers Roll Call (yea/nay) Votesa Recorded Votesb Session Total Roll Call (yea/nay) Votesa Recorded Votesb Session Total All Sessions Total Cumulative Total 1st Session 2nd Session All Sessions Total Cumulative Total Congress Total Cumulative Total 70 19271928 na n/a na na n/a na 72 23,282 na na 191 24,743 263 48,025 71 19291930 na n/a na na n/a na 103 23,385 na na 436 25,179 539 48,564 72 19311932 na n/a na na n/a na 123 23,508 na na 280 25,459 403 48,967 73 19331934 na n/a na na n/a na 143 23,651 na na 228 25,687 371 49,338 74 19351936 na n/a na na n/a na 212 23,863 na na 193 25,880 405 49,743 75 19371938 na n/a na na n/a na 158 24,021 na na 174 26,054 332 50,075 76 19391940 na n/a na na n/a na 227 24,248 na na 266 26,320 493 50,568 77 19411942 na n/a na na n/a na 152 24,400 na na 192 26,512 344 50,912 78 19431944 na n/a na na n/a na 155 24,555 na na 220 26,732 375 51,287 79 19451946 na n/a na na n/a na 249 24,804 na na 244 26,976 493 51,780 80 19471948 84 n/a 84 79 n/a 79 163 24,967 138 110 248 27,224 411 52,191 81 19491950 121 n/a 121 154 n/a 154 275 25,242 226 229 455 27,679 730 52,921 82 19511952 109 n/a 109 72 n/a 72 181 25,423 202 129 331 28,010 512 53,433 83 19531954 71 n/a 71 76 n/a 76 147 25,570 89 181 270 28,280 417 53,850 CRS-7 House of Representatives 1st Session Congress/ Years 2nd Session Senate All Sessions Both Chambers Roll Call (yea/nay) Votesa Recorded Votesb Session Total Roll Call (yea/nay) Votesa Recorded Votesb Session Total All Sessions Total Cumulative Total 1st Session 2nd Session All Sessions Total Cumulative Total Congress Total Cumulative Total 84 19551956 73 n/a 73 74 n/a 74 147 25,717 88 136 224 28,504 371 54,221 85 19571958 100 n/a 100 93 n/a 93 193 25,910 111 202 313 28,817 506 54,727 86 19591960 87 n/a 87 93 n/a 93 180 26,090 215 207 422 29,239 602 55,329 87 19611962 116 n/a 116 124 n/a 124 240 26,330 207 227 434 29,673 674 56,003 88 19631964 119 n/a 119 113 n/a 113 232 26,562 229 312 541 30,214 773 56,776 89 19651966 201 n/a 201 193 n/a 193 394 26,956 259 238 497 30,711 891 57,667 90 19671968 245 n/a 245 233 n/a 233 478 27,434 315 280 595 31,306 1,073 58,740 91 19691970 177 n/a 177 266 n/a 266 443 27,877 245 422 667 31,973 1,110 59,850 92 19711972 212 108 320 244 85 329 649 28,526 423 532 955 32,928 1,604 61,454 93 19731974 307 234 541 325 212 537 1,078 29,604 594 544 1,138 34,066 2,216 63,670 94 19751976 362 250 612 448 213 661 1,273 30,877 611 700 1,311 35,377 2,584 66,254 95 19771978 471 235 706 564 270 834 1,540 32,417 636 520 1,156 36,533 2,696 68,950 96 19791980 359 313 672 420 184 604 1,276 33,693 509 546 1,055 37,588 2,331 71,281 97 19811982 224 129 353 295 164 459 812 34,505 497 469 966 38,554 1,778 73,059 CRS-8 House of Representatives 1st Session Congress/ Years 2nd Session Senate All Sessions Both Chambers Roll Call (yea/nay) Votesa Recorded Votesb Session Total Roll Call (yea/nay) Votesa Recorded Votesb Session Total All Sessions Total Cumulative Total 1st Session 2nd Session All Sessions Total Cumulative Total Congress Total Cumulative Total 98 19831984 297 201 498 227 181 408 906 35,411 381 292 673 39,227 1,579 74,638 99 19851986 255 184 439 224 227 451 890 36,301 381 359 740 39,967 1,630 76,268 100 19871988 234 254 488 308 143 451 939 37,240 420 379 799 40,766 1,738 78,006 101 19891990 226 142 368 271 239 510 878 38,118 312 326 638 41,404 1,516 79,522 102 19911992 238 190 428 271 202 473 901 39,019 280 270 550 41,954 1,451 80,973 103 19931994 266 331 597 205 292 497 1,094 40,113 395 329 724 42,678 1,818 82,791 104 19951996 299 568 867 223 231 454 1,321 41,434 613 306 919 43,597 2,240 85,031 105 19971998 285 348 633 257 276 533 1,166 42,600 298 314 612 44,209 1,778 86,809 106 19992000 320 289 609 359 241 600 1,209 43,809 374 298 672 44,881 1,881 88,690 107 20012002 313 194 507 302 181 483 990 44,799 380 253 633 45,514 1,623 90,313 108 20032004 417 258 675 313 230 543 1218 46,017 459 216 675 46,189 1,893 92,206 Source: Data were obtained from the following sources: (1) U.S. Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service, Number of Roll Call Votes in the U.S. House of Representatives and in the U.S. Senate, First Through 79th Congresses, by (name redacted), Report unnumbered (Washington: Jan. 16, 1985, out of print); Indicators of House of Representatives Workload and Activity, by Roger H. Davidson and Carol Hardy, CRS Report 87-492 S (Washington: June 8, 1987, out of print); Indicators of Senate Activity and Workload, by Roger H. Davidson and Carol Hardy, CRS Report 87-497 S (Washington: June 8, 1987, out of print); and (2) Congressional Record, Daily Digest, “Resume of Congressional Activity,” Dec. 22, 1987, p. D1679; Nov. 10, 1988, p. D1399; Nov. 21, 1989, p. D1431; Nov. 2, 1990, p. D1453; Nov. 27, 1991, p. D1549; Oct. 9, 1992, p. D1332; Nov. 26, 1993, p. D1389; Dec. 1, 1994, p. D1273; Jan. 3, 1996, p. D1535; Oct. 4, 1996, p. D1053; Jan. 19, 1999, p. D29; Jan. 30, 2002, p. D46; Jan. 29, 2002, p. D23; Dec. 16, 2002, p. D1193, Dec. 8, 2003, p. D1349, and Dec 20, 2004, p. D1135. CRS-9 Notes: For the purposes of this compilation, a record vote is defined as any vote for which public record is made of how individual Members voted (for or against). In the House, record votes include both roll call (yea and nay) and recorded votes. In the Senate, all record votes (yea and nay, and roll call votes) are taken by a call of the roll. See text for definition of terms. a. Roll call (yea and nay) votes are taken only when the House is sitting as the House and not when in Committee of the Whole (na=not readily available). b. Recorded votes may be taken when the House sits either as the House or in Committee of the Whole. Because this form of record votes began in 1971 in the House, the table indicates n/a (not applicable) for the period 1789 through 1970. Figure 1.Total Number of Record Votes, House of Representatives and Senate, 92nd Congress-108th Congress, 1971-2004 Number of Votes 1600 1400 1200 1000 800 600 400 200 0 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 House CRS-10 100 101 Congress 102 Senate 103 104 105 106 107 108 Figure 2.Total Number of Record Votes (Yea/Nay and Recorded), House of Representatives, by Session, 92nd Congress-108th Congress, 1971-2004 Number of Votes 1000 Recorded Votes Yea/Nay Votes 800 600 400 200 0 92/1 92/2 93/1 93/2 94/1 94/2 95/1 95/2 96/1 96/2 97/1 97/2 98/1 98/2 99/1 99/2 100/1 100/2 101/1 101/2 102/1 102/2 103/1 103/2 104/1 104/2 105/1 105/2 106/1 106/2 107/1 107/2 108/1 108/2 Congress/Session CRS-11 Figure 3.Total Number of Record Votes, Senate, by Session, 92nd Congress-108th Congress, 1971-2004 Number of Votes 800 1st Session 2nd Session 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 Congress CRS-12 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 Congressional Roll Call and Other Record Votes Author Contact Information (name redacted) Congressional Research Service 13 EveryCRSReport.com The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a federal legislative branch agency, housed inside the Library of Congress, charged with providing the United States Congress non-partisan advice on issues that may come before Congress. 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