# Legislative votes
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legislative-votes/152492
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [February 3, 2003, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legislative-votes/152492 "2003-02-03T14:19:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@David\_Wolter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Wolter)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2003, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legislative-votes/152492/1 "2003-02-03T14:19:59Z")
what legislative bills require majority votes only and what bills require super majority votes., and are the rules the same in the House as in the senate?
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### Author:  [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2003, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legislative-votes/152492/2 "2003-02-03T14:40:49Z")
In the U.S. Congress, most bills require a simple majority. The main exception is that you need a 2/3rd majority to override a presidential veto or to amend the Constitution.
In addition, the Senate has a rule to invoke cloture (i.e., stop debate on a bill and call it for a vote – the Senate can debate as long as one member wants to debate). I belive that’s currently at 60%.
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### Author:  [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2003, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legislative-votes/152492/3 "2003-02-03T16:49:27Z")
The Senate also must approve treaties by a 2/3 vote, I believe. (The House is not involved in treate ratification.)
There was talk back in the early and mid-90’s of passing a law which would state that future tax increases could only be passed with a 3/5 majority. It never passed, but had it, it would clearly be unconsitutional and there would be nothing stopping Congress from ignoring it or from repealing it with a simple majority vote.
–Cliffy
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### Author:  [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)
#### Post date: [February 3, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legislative-votes/152492/4 "2003-02-03T20:22:20Z")
Under the Constitution the following actions require a two thirds majority:
(a) approval of a treaty (Senate only)
(b) approval of a Constitutional amendment
© override of a presidential veto
(d) expulsion of a member
(e) conviction on an article of impeachment (Senate only)
Beyond that, the rules of each house specify when a supermajority is needed. The Senate, as has been noted, requires a majority of three fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn to invoke cloture and limit debate. The House, like most parliamentary bodies, requires a two thirds majority for a motion to suspend the rules, which is sometimes necessary to pass legislation late in a session. Finally, as C-SPAN junkies know, both houses allow many actions to be taken only by unanimous consent. (“I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks.” Yeah, like anybody cares!)
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### Author:  [@brianmelendez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianmelendez)
#### Post date: [February 4, 2003, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legislative-votes/152492/5 "2003-02-04T00:09:49Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by jklann \*
> \*\*Finally, as C-SPAN junkies know, both houses allow many actions to be taken only by unanimous consent. (“I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks.” Yeah, like anybody cares!) \*\*
The actions for which a member typically asks unanimous consent–for example, permission for revising and extending one’s remarks as they will appear in the _Congressional Record_–generally require only a simple majority. The unanimous-consent device simply allows the debate and formal vote to be dispensed with. The presiding officer’s usual response to a unanimous-consent request is, “Without objection, so ordered.” But theoretically, if anyone did object, then the request would require a vote, in most cases a simple majority.