is highly baroque. Someone brings up a motion, and they vote to decide whether they'll talk about it. Then *if* that vote passes, they debate on it for an unlimited time. At any point, someone can move for cloture; that is, to end the debate and proceed to a vote. If the motion is passed, then the Senate votes on cloture. If the vote fails, debate is still open. Someone can move to table the motion or (if it originated in committee) to return it to committee. (This may happen if debate proceeds for so long that other Senate business cannot be done - the origin of the tactic called "filibustering".) If *that* motion is passed, the original motion may (but need not) be brought up in a later session (there are two sessions a year).
If the vote for cloture passes, then the Senate proceeds to a vote on the motion itself. Some of these votes are voice votes, some are ballot votes by senator; I don't know how the president pro tem of the Senate chooses, but there are specific rules.
The procedure is similar in the House of Representatives, by the way, except that debate time is limited, making cloture votes unnecessary. The representatives do still have to vote at the end of the debate period on whether they want to vote on the motion. |
