United States Senate

====Voting====
When the debate concludes, the motion in question is put to a vote. The Senate often votes by voice vote. The presiding officer puts the question, and members respond either "Yea/Aye" (in favor of the motion) or "Nay" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the voice vote. A senator, however, may challenge the presiding officer's assessment and request a recorded vote. The request may be granted only if it is seconded by one-fifth of the senators present. In practice, however, senators second requests for recorded votes as a matter of courtesy. When a recorded vote is held, the clerk calls the roll of the Senate in alphabetical order; senators respond when their name is called. Senators who were not in the chamber when their name was called may still cast a vote so long as the voting remains open. The vote is closed at the discretion of the presiding officer, but must remain open for a minimum of 15 minutes. A majority of those voting determines whether the motion carries.<ref name = Majority/> If the vote is tied, the vice president, if present, is entitled to cast a [[United States Vice Presidents' tie-breaking votes|tie-breaking vote]]. If the vice president is not present, the motion fails.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yea or Nay? Voting in the Senate |url=https://www.senate.gov/general/Features/votes.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511073831/http://www.senate.gov/general/Features/votes.htm |archive-date=May 11, 2011 |access-date=April 11, 2011 |publisher=Senate.gov}}</ref>

Filibustered bills require a three-fifths majority to overcome the cloture vote (which usually means 60 votes). To pass a bill, a simple majority (usually 51 votes) is needed. Some news media have confused the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster with the 51 votes needed to approve a bill with for example ''[[USA Today]]'' erroneously stating "The vote was 58–39 in favor of the provision establishing concealed carry permit reciprocity in the 48 states that have concealed weapons laws. That fell two votes short of the 60 needed to approve the measure".<ref name="Majority">{{Cite web |date=July 31, 2009 |title=How majority rule works in the U.S. Senate |url=http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view&backgroundid=381 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107141300/http://www.niemanwatchdog.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=background.view&backgroundid=381 |archive-date=January 7, 2021 |access-date=March 4, 2013 |publisher=Nieman Watchdog}}</ref>