How to Find Out How Your Representative Voted
Politicians vie for the opportunity to represent their constituencies. They can represent their districts at the state level or the national level. Either way, it is vital to know whether or not the representative is voting responsibly and in the best interests of the district. Learn how to find out how the representative voted.
- Difficulty:
- Easy
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Secretary of State, Board of Elections or County Government information
- State House District Number
- Congressional House District Number
- Legislation
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1
Decide if the voting record needed is from the state representative or the congressional representative.
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2
Contact the state's secretary of state, county government or board of elections by calling or by going online. Give the home address. Write down the state house district number and the congressional house district number (if it's provided). If the congressional house district number is not provided, go to www.house.gov and enter the zip+4 zipcode.
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3
Go to the state legislature's website. The address may be www.legis.(state abbreviation).gov or legis.state.(state abbreviation).us or another variation. Locate the state representative by house district number.
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4
Locate the desired legislation through the state's legislative website or through the U.S. House of Representatives website under "Find Vote Information".
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5
Scroll down to the legislator's name and take note of how the representative voted.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Both state and congressional voting records have terms such as "ordering the previous question" or "motion to suspend the rules." The legislators use Robert's Rules of Order to conduct debates on legislation. Also, there are websites such as www.opencongress.org that can provide the information needed in one place.
