Against the Grain

This interactive graphic illustrates patterns of dissent in the 112th Congress on so-called party unity votes — those where a majority of Democrats oppose a majority of Republicans.

The "members" view ranks senators and House members by how frequently they vote against their party's majority. That view can show all votes or be filtered to show only votes in a specific subject area. Picking individual lawmakers shows how often they dissent by subject.

The "votes" view lists all party unity roll calls in each chamber where at least one party had dissenters. For each vote, the graphic shows a description of what was at issue, the party breakdown and a list of dissenters from both parties. The "votes" view can also be filtered by subject.

To begin, choose the "members" or "votes" view and pick a chamber. After choosing to look at all votes or those from a specific subject, additional details are accessible by clicking on individual members or votes.

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Credits: Thomas Wilburn (interactive), Sarah Vanderbilt (research and editing)