Where can I find roll-call records for Senate votes from 1986?
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Executive summary
The official U.S. Senate roll-call archive and related primary sources are available online and in databases that cover 1986 votes: the Senate’s Legislative Information System hosts individual roll-call pages for past Congresses (examples of roll calls are on senate.gov) [1] [2]. Independent aggregators and academic compilations such as GovTrack and Voteview provide digitized databases of roll calls for 1986 and earlier, with Voteview offering downloadable datasets and GovTrack showing individual Senate votes [3] [4]. For original printed text and full floor context, the Congressional Record and Senate journals record roll calls and proceedings [5] [6].
1. Where to start: the Senate’s own roll‑call pages
The Senate publishes roll‑call vote pages via its Legislative Information System; individual votes from the 99th Congress (1985–1986) and later have dedicated pages that list measure titles and vote results (see example roll call pages on senate.gov) [1] [2]. Use the Senate’s Votes landing pages and the LIS roll_call_votes directory to locate votes by Congress, session, and vote number [1] [2].
2. Secondary sources that stitch the history together
GovTrack presents searchable, human‑readable entries for individual Senate roll calls from 1986, including metadata and links to original sources; an example is Senate Vote #677 from Sept. 27, 1986 [3]. GovTrack’s pages note their underlying data come from academic digitizations such as Voteview and from official records [3].
3. Scholarly, downloadable datasets: Voteview
Voteview maintains an archival, researcher‑oriented database of roll‑call votes stretching back centuries and offers data downloads useful for analysis; Voteview explicitly hosts the congressional roll‑call database and archival dumps of their MongoDB database [4]. If you need to run calculations or reconstruct historical roll‑call patterns, Voteview is the recommended academic source [4].
4. The Congressional Record and official journals for original text and context
If you want the verbatim floor debate, motions and the original roll‑call text as printed at the time, consult the Congressional Record and the Senate Journal; those primary sources include roll‑call votes and the surrounding proceedings [5]. Library and university guides recommend starting with easier online indexes (GovTrack, Senate pages) to identify dates and vote numbers, then retrieve the full Congressional Record entry [6] [5].
5. Practical search path to find a specific 1986 vote
Best practice: determine the date or bill, look up the roll‑call number on the Senate’s roll_call_votes pages, confirm details on GovTrack for a cleaner summary, and — if you need original wording or floor debate — pull the corresponding Congressional Record entry or Senate Journal [1] [3] [5]. University research guides echo this workflow and note that some votes were voice votes and thus have no roll‑call record [6] [7].
6. What each source is best for, and their limitations
- Senate LIS pages: authoritative primary online roll‑call pages and measure titles; best for official electronic records [1] [2].
- GovTrack: user‑friendly summaries, contextual tools, and examples of 1986 votes; depends on digitized records and may add analytic layers [3].
- Voteview: researcher datasets and downloadable archives for large‑scale analysis; designed for scholars [4].
- Congressional Record/Senate Journal: original printed/verbatim record and full procedural context; necessary when exact wording or floor remarks matter [5] [6]. Note: not all floor actions were roll calls — some were voice votes and won’t appear as individual member votes [6] [7].
7. Hidden agendas and differences in presentation
Official Senate pages present raw, procedural records without analysis [1] [2]. GovTrack and Voteview add interpretation, visualizations, and ideology scoring; those additions help research but reflect the aims of civic‑tech or academic projects to make data more usable [3] [4]. Research guides from libraries recommend combining sources to avoid relying on any single presentation [6].
8. Quick citation list and next actions
Use the Senate roll‑call directory at senate.gov to find specific votes [1] [2], consult GovTrack for quick lookup and human‑readable pages like Vote #677 [3], and download or query Voteview for dataset work [4]. For original floor text and final confirmation, retrieve the Congressional Record or Senate Journal entry for the date and vote number you’ve identified [5] [6].
Limitations: available sources do not mention any single consolidated “1986 only” printed compilation beyond the avenues above; library guides note committee print compilations beginning in 1987 but do not describe a single printed 1986 roll‑call digest [6].