Bipartisan Voting Rate

On what share of recorded votes do majorities of both parties agree?

Updated MonthlyAs of 2024-06-01High data quality

Historical Trend

Data sourced from official government APIs

What It Measures

The percentage of recorded roll-call votes in which a majority of Republicans and a majority of Democrats vote on the same side. Also tracks the "party unity" score — the percentage of votes where members vote with their party majority.

Formula

Bipartisan Vote Rate (%) = Bipartisan Votes ÷ Total Roll-Call Votes × 100

Why It Matters

Legislative coalitions that require cross-party support tend to produce more durable policy. High party-unity scores reflect polarization in voting behavior. Trend data reveals whether Congress is becoming more or less cross-partisan over time.

Data Caveats

Voice votes and quorum calls are not included in roll-call totals.
Procedural votes (e.g., cloture, rule adoption) may skew party-line percentages compared to final passage votes.
Low-salience bipartisan votes (naming post offices, commemorative resolutions) can inflate bipartisan rates if not excluded.

Drill-Down Options

By chamber
By policy area
By member (bipartisan voting score)
Party unity score trend
Vote type (passage, procedural, amendment)

Suggested Dashboard Layout

Example Visualization

Long-run line chart of bipartisan vote rate since 1970. Party unity scores for each party as separate lines. Member-level scatter plot of bipartisan voting score vs. district partisanship.

Suggested Chart Types

Line ChartBar Chart

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