Order Code RL30562
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Congressional Roll Call and Other Record Votes:
First Congress Through 108th Congress, First
Session, 1789 Through 2003
Updated December 19, 2003
John Pontius
Specialist in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

---

Congressional Roll Call and Other Record Votes: First
Congress Through 108th Congress, First Session, 1789
Through 2003
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, first session, 1789 through 2003.
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, first session, 1947 through 2003.
Figures 1 through 3 display the number of record votes in each chamber for
each session from the 92nd Congress through 108th Congress, first session, 1971
through 2003. 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, first session, there were 675 record votes in the House
of Representatives and 459 record votes in the Senate. From 1789 through 2003,
there were 91,447 such votes — 45,474 votes in the House, and 45,973 votes in the
Senate.
This report will be updated following the conclusion of the 108th Congress.

---

Contents
Roll Call and Record Votes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
List of Figures
Figure 1. Total Number of Record Votes, House of Representatives and
Senate, 92nd Congress - 108th Congress, First Session, 1971-2003 . . . . . . . 10
Figure 2. Total Number of Record Votes (Yea/Nay and Recorded),
House of Representatives, by Session, 92nd Congress - 108th Congress,
First Session, 1971-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Figure 3. Total Number of Record Votes, Senate, by Session,
92nd Congress - 108th Congress, First Session, 1971-2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
List of Tables
Table 1. Record Votes in Congress, First Congress Through 108th Congress,
First Session, 1789 Through 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

---

Congressional Roll Call and Other Record
Votes: First Congress Through 108th
Congress, First Session,
1789 Through 2003
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, first
session, 1789 through 2003. 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 108th Congress, first session,
1789 through 2003. 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. From 1789 through 2003,
there were 91,447 such votes — 45,474 votes in the House, and 45,973 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, first session,
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.

---

CRS-2
1971 through 2003. 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, first session, 1947 through
2003, 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 , first session,
1971 through 2003, 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.”
2 In addition, in some of those earlier Congresses, three and occasionally even four sessions
were held.

---

CRS-3
Table 1. Record Votes in Congress, First Congress Through 108th Congress, First Session, 1789 Through 2003
House of Representatives
Senate
Both Chambers
1st Session
2nd Session
All Sessions
Roll Call
Roll Call
All
All
Recorded
Session
Recorded
Session
Cumulative
1st
2nd
Cumulative
Congress
Cumulative
Congress/Years
(yea/nay)
(yea/nay)
Sessions
Sessions
Votesb
Total
Votesb
Total
Total
Session
Session
Total
Total
Total
Votesa
Votesa
Total
Total
1
1789-1790
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
109
109
na
na
100
100
209
209
2
1791-1792
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
102
211
na
na
52
152
154
363
3
1793-1794
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
69
280
na
na
79
231
148
511
4
1795-1796
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
83
363
na
na
86
317
169
680
5
1797-1798
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
155
518
na
na
202
519
357
1,037
6
1799-1800
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
96
614
na
na
120
639
216
1,253
7
1801-1802
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
141
755
na
na
88
727
229
1,482
8
1803-1804
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
132
887
na
na
150
877
282
1,764
9
1805-1806
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
158
1,045
na
na
88
965
246
2,010
10
1807-1808
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
237
1,282
na
na
91
1,056
328
2,338
11
1809-1810
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
293
1,575
na
na
167
1,223
460
2,798
12
1811-1812
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
314
1,889
na
na
204
1,427
518
3,316
13
1813-1814
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
352
2,241
na
na
263
1,690
615
3,931
14
1815-1816
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
113
2,354
na
na
189
1,879
302
4,233
15
1817-1818
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
106
2,460
na
na
132
2,011
238
4,471

---

CRS-4
House of Representatives
Senate
Both Chambers
1st Session
2nd Session
All Sessions
Roll Call
Roll Call
All
All
Recorded
Session
Recorded
Session
Cumulative
1st
2nd
Cumulative
Congress
Cumulative
Congress/Years
(yea/nay)
(yea/nay)
Sessions
Sessions
Votesb
Total
Votesb
Total
Total
Session
Session
Total
Total
Total
Votesa
Votesa
Total
Total
16
1819-1820
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
147
2,607
na
na
120
2,131
267
4,738
17
1821-1822
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
95
2,702
na
na
91
2,222
186
4,924
18
1823-1824
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
94
2,796
na
na
178
2,400
272
5,196
19
1825-1826
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
111
2,907
na
na
234
2,634
345
5,541
20
1827-1828
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
233
3,140
na
na
238
2,872
471
6,012
21
1829-1830
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
273
3,413
na
na
277
3,149
550
6,562
22
1831-1832
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
462
3,875
na
na
422
3,571
884
7,446
23
1833-1834
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
327
4,202
na
na
229
3,800
556
8,002
24
1835-1836
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
459
4,661
na
na
439
4,239
898
8,900
25
1837-1838
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
475
5,136
na
na
410
4,649
885
9,785
26
1839-1840
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
751
5,887
na
na
334
4,983
1,085
10,870
27
1841-1842
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
974
6,861
na
na
822
5,805
1,796
12,666
28
1843-1844
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
597
7,458
na
na
305
6,110
902
13,568
29
1845-1846
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
642
8,100
na
na
383
6,493
1,025
14,593
30
1847-1848
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
478
8,578
na
na
344
6,837
822
15,415
31
1849-1850
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
572
9,150
na
na
499
7,336
1,071
16,486

---

CRS-5
House of Representatives
Senate
Both Chambers
1st Session
2nd Session
All Sessions
Roll Call
Roll Call
All
All
Recorded
Session
Recorded
Session
Cumulative
1st
2nd
Cumulative
Congress
Cumulative
Congress/Years
(yea/nay)
(yea/nay)
Sessions
Sessions
Votesb
Total
Votesb
Total
Total
Session
Session
Total
Total
Total
Votesa
Votesa
Total
Total
32
1851-1852
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
455
9,605
na
na
358
7,694
813
17,299
33
1853-1854
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
607
10,212
na
na
546
8,240
1,153
18,452
34
1855-1856
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
729
10,941
na
na
449
8,689
1,178
19,630
35
1857-1858
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
548
11,489
na
na
702
9,391
1,250
20,880
36
1859-1860
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
433
11,922
na
na
607
9,998
1,040
21,920
37
1861-1862
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
638
12,560
na
na
801
10,799
1,439
23,359
38
1863-1864
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
600
13,160
na
na
598
11,397
1,198
24,557
39
1865-1866
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
613
13,773
na
na
501
11,898
1,114
25,671
40
1867-1868
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
717
14,490
na
na
716
12,614
1,433
27,104
41
1869-1870
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
634
15,124
na
na
742
13,356
1,376
28,480
42
1871-1872
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
517
15,641
na
na
803
14,159
1,320
29,800
43
1873-1874
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
475
16,116
na
na
420
14,579
895
30,695
44
1875-1876
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
328
16,444
na
na
434
15,013
762
31,457
45
1877-1878
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
377
16,821
na
na
585
15,598
962
32,419
46
1879-1880
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
439
17,260
na
na
570
16,168
1,009
33,428
47
1881-1882
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
349
17,609
na
na
986
17,154
1,335
34,763

---

CRS-6
House of Representatives
Senate
Both Chambers
1st Session
2nd Session
All Sessions
Roll Call
Roll Call
All
All
Recorded
Session
Recorded
Session
Cumulative
1st
2nd
Cumulative
Congress
Cumulative
Congress/Years
(yea/nay)
(yea/nay)
Sessions
Sessions
Votesb
Total
Votesb
Total
Total
Session
Session
Total
Total
Total
Votesa
Votesa
Total
Total
48
1883-1884
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
334
17,943
na
na
428
17,582
762
35,525
49
1885-1886
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
306
18,249
na
na
461
18,043
767
36,292
50
1887-1888
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
320
18,569
na
na
389
18,432
709
37,001
51
1889-1890
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
587
19,156
na
na
526
18,958
1,113
38,114
52
1891-1892
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
304
19,460
na
na
209
19,167
513
38,627
53
1893-1894
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
373
19,833
na
na
561
19,728
934
39,561
54
1895-1896
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
162
19,995
na
na
197
19,925
359
39,920
55
1897-1898
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
183
20,178
na
na
381
20,306
564
40,484
56
1899-1900
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
149
20,327
na
na
169
20,475
318
40,802
57
1901-1902
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
185
20,512
na
na
118
20,593
303
41,105
58
1903-1904
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
87
20,599
na
na
92
20,685
179
41,284
59
1905-1906
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
136
20,735
na
na
128
20,813
264
41,548
60
1907-1908
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
312
21,047
na
na
84
20,897
396
41,944
61
1909-1910
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
202
21,249
na
na
268
21,165
470
42,414
62
1911-1912
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
262
21,511
na
na
396
21,561
658
43,072
63
1913-1914
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
282
21,793
na
na
572
22,133
854
43,926

---

CRS-7
House of Representatives
Senate
Both Chambers
1st Session
2nd Session
All Sessions
Roll Call
Roll Call
All
All
Recorded
Session
Recorded
Session
Cumulative
1st
2nd
Cumulative
Congress
Cumulative
Congress/Years
(yea/nay)
(yea/nay)
Sessions
Sessions
Votesb
Total
Votesb
Total
Total
Session
Session
Total
Total
Total
Votesa
Votesa
Total
Total
64
1915-1916
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
157
21,950
na
na
406
22,539
563
44,489
65
1917-1918
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
266
22,216
na
na
384
22,923
650
45,139
66
1919-1920
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
339
22,555
na
na
407
23,330
746
45,885
67
1921-1922
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
362
22,917
na
na
751
24,081
1,113
46,998
68
1923-1924
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
179
23,096
na
na
235
24,316
414
47,412
69
1925-1926
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
114
23,210
na
na
236
24,552
350
47,762
70
1927-1928
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
72
23,282
na
na
191
24,743
263
48,025
71
1929-1930
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
103
23,385
na
na
436
25,179
539
48,564
72
1931-1932
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
123
23,508
na
na
280
25,459
403
48,967
73
1933-1934
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
143
23,651
na
na
228
25,687
371
49,338
74
1935-1936
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
212
23,863
na
na
193
25,880
405
49,743
75
1937-1938
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
158
24,021
na
na
174
26,054
332
50,075
76
1939-1940
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
227
24,248
na
na
266
26,320
493
50,568
77
1941-1942
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
152
24,400
na
na
192
26,512
344
50,912
78
1943-1944
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
155
24,555
na
na
220
26,732
375
51,287
79
1945-1946
na
n/a
na
na
n/a
na
249
24,804
na
na
244
26,976
493
51,780

---

CRS-8
House of Representatives
Senate
Both Chambers
1st Session
2nd Session
Both Sessions
Roll Call
Roll Call
Both
Both
Recorded
Session
Recorded
Session
Cumulative
1st
2nd
Cumulative
Congress
Cumulative
Congress/Years
(yea/nay)
(yea/nay)
Sessions
Sessions
Votesb
Total
Votesb
Total
Total
Session
Session
Total
Total
Total
Votesa
Votesa
Total
Total
80
1947-1948
84
n/a
84
79
n/a
79
163
24,967
138
110
248
27,224
411
52,191
81
1949-1950
121
n/a
121
154
n/a
154
275
25,242
226
229
455
27,679
730
52,921
82
1951-1952
109
n/a
109
72
n/a
72
181
25,423
202
129
331
28,010
512
53,433
83
1953-1954
71
n/a
71
76
n/a
76
147
25,570
89
181
270
28,280
417
53,850
84
1955-1956
73
n/a
73
74
n/a
74
147
25,717
88
136
224
28,504
371
54,221
85
1957-1958
100
n/a
100
93
n/a
93
193
25,910
111
202
313
28,817
506
54,727
86
1959-1960
87
n/a
87
93
n/a
93
180
26,090
215
207
422
29,239
602
55,329
87
1961-1962
116
n/a
116
124
n/a
124
240
26,330
207
227
434
29,673
674
56,003
88
1963-1964
119
n/a
119
113
n/a
113
232
26,562
229
312
541
30,214
773
56,776
89
1965-1966
201
n/a
201
193
n/a
193
394
26,956
259
238
497
30,711
891
57,667
90
1967-1968
245
n/a
245
233
n/a
233
478
27,434
315
280
595
31,306
1,073
58,740
91
1969-1970
177
n/a
177
266
n/a
266
443
27,877
245
422
667
31,973
1,110
59,850
92
1971-1972
212
108
320
244
85
329
649
28,526
423
532
955
32,928
1,604
61,454
93
1973-1974
307
234
541
325
212
537
1,078
29,604
594
544
1,138
34,066
2,216
63,670
94
1975-1976
362
250
612
448
213
661
1,273
30,877
611
700
1,311
35,377
2,584
66,254
95
1977-1978
471
235
706
564
270
834
1,540
32,417
636
520
1,156
36,533
2,696
68,950

---

CRS-9
House of Representatives
Senate
Both Chambers
1st Session
2nd Session
Both Sessions
Roll Call
Roll Call
Both
Both
Recorded
Session
Recorded
Session
Cumulative
1st
2nd
Cumulative
Congress
Cumulative
Congress/Years
(yea/nay)
(yea/nay)
Sessions
Sessions
Votesb
Total
Votesb
Total
Total
Session
Session
Total
Total
Total
Votesa
Votesa
Total
Total
96
1979-1980
359
313
672
420
184
604
1,276
33,693
509
546
1,055
37,588
2,331
71,281
97
1981-1982
224
129
353
295
164
459
812
34,505
497
469
966
38,554
1,778
73,059
98
1983-1984
297
201
498
227
181
408
906
35,411
381
292
673
39,227
1,579
74,638
99
1985-1986
255
184
439
224
227
451
890
36,301
381
359
740
39,967
1,630
76,268
100
1987-1988
234
254
488
308
143
451
939
37,240
420
379
799
40,766
1,738
78,006
101
1989-1990
226
142
368
271
239
510
878
38,118
312
326
638
41,404
1,516
79,522
102
1991-1992
238
190
428
271
202
473
901
39,019
280
270
550
41,954
1,451
80,973
103
1993-1994
266
331
597
205
292
497
1,094
40,113
395
329
724
42,678
1,818
82,791
104
1995-1996
299
568
867
223
231
454
1,321
41,434
613
306
919
43,597
2,240
85,031
105
1997-1998
285
348
633
257
276
533
1,166
42,600
298
314
612
44,209
1,778
86,809
106
1999-2000
320
289
609
359
241
600
1,209
43,809
374
298
672
44,881
1,881
88,690
107
2001-2002
313
194
507
302
181
483
990
44,799
380
253
633
45,514
1,623
90,313
108
2003
417
258
675
45,474
459
45,973
1,134
91,447
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 Sula P. Richardson, 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, and Dec. 8, 2003, p. D1349.
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.

---

CRS-10
Figure 1. Total Number of Record Votes, House of Representatives and Senate,
92nd Congress - 108th Congress, First Session, 1971-2003

---

CRS-11
Figure 2. Total Number of Record Votes (Yea/Nay and Recorded), House of Representatives,
by Session, 92nd Congress - 108th Congress, First Session, 1971-2003

---

CRS-12
Figure 3. Total Number of Record Votes, Senate, by Session,
92nd Congress - 108th Congress, First Session, 1971-2003

---