Frequently Asked Questions About the Minnesota Legislature

The permanent journal for each session has an index of bills by author. Also, you can click on the Web page for your Senator or Representative to find the recent bills he or she has authored.

The votes that Senators and Representatives cast are a matter of public record and are recorded in the official journals of each body. You can find the votes on the Legislature's website for the years 1995 to present.

The House has made it easy to check on House votes cast since 2001 on all bills. From the Bill Status page for any House bill, click on Recorded Roll Call Floor Votes to get voting details. Or go to the Recorded Roll Call Floor Votes page to find a vote by date or by bill number.

The Senate does not provide this service. To track how Senators voted from 1995 to the present, and how Representatives voted from 1995 to 2001, go to the Legislation and Bill Status page, type in the bill you are looking for, and you will get a bill status page on your screen. Near the bottom, you will see the final vote. Next to it should be a link to the journal page recording the vote. Simply look up your Representative or Senator to see how he or she voted.

For years prior to 1995, you would need to use the print volumes of the House and Senate Journals. Minnesota House and Senate Journals are available at the Legislative Reference Library, Minnesota Law Library, Minnesota History Center and various other libraries.

There are no official compilations of voting records. To find all votes by a particular Senator or Representative, you must look up the final vote on each individual bill.

Some Senators and Representatives have their staff keep track of votes. In addition, interest groups following certain legislation compile such information. Be aware, however, that these compilations can be partisan in nature. A selection of Legislator Voting Records and Ratings can be found in a guide from the Legislative Reference Library.

A bill must receive a majority of the votes in both houses—68 in the House and 34 in the Senate. Capital Investment bills require a three-fifths majority vote—81 representatives and 41 senators.

There is a set of buttons on the desk of every representative and senator—a green one for a "yes" vote and a red one for a "no" vote. Roll-call votes are recorded electronically and are visible on a board on each side of the Senate Chamber and the House Chamber.

A roll-call vote, where every member's vote is recorded, is required for the final passage of a bill or conference committee report. However, in order to have a roll-call vote for an amendment or, in the Senate, a bill on General Orders, a member must request a roll-call and be supported by a certain number of members. Otherwise, votes are taken by voice, in which case only the outcome of the vote is officially recorded in the House or Senate Journal. All roll-call votes are recorded in the House or Senate Journal.