About Roll Call
What is Roll Call?
Roll Call lets you read real bills before Congress and vote Yea, Nay, or Present on them yourself — like you held a seat. It's an informal public opinion poll, not an official government platform.
Is this affiliated with the U.S. Congress?
No. Roll Call is an independent, unofficial project. It isn't affiliated with the U.S. Congress, the Library of Congress, or Congress.gov.
What is the point of voting?
This is more of an informal survey, but the data could be used to inform lawmakers of public opinion.
Is this a scientific poll?
No — it's a self-selected straw poll among whoever visits the site, not a random or representative sample. Treat the tallies as a temperature check, not a scientific survey.
Where does the bill data come from?
Directly from Congress.gov's public API — the same official source journalists and congressional staff use. A bill's snapshot reflects that day's data, not necessarily this exact moment.
Voting
Do I have to vote on every bill?
No, you can pick and choose which ones you want to.
What if I don't understand the bill?
Feel free to just vote Present.
Why can't I vote on a bill right away?
Voting unlocks after you open a bill's details and confirm you've read it. It's a small speed bump meant to encourage actually reading the summary before you weigh in.
Can I change my vote after I cast it?
Yes. Just pick a different option — it swaps your existing vote instead of adding a new one, so you're never double-counted.
What does "Present" mean?
It means you don't have a strong opinion, or don't feel informed enough to say Yea or Nay — the same option actual Members of Congress use.
What's the difference between Bills and Issues?
Bills are real, active legislation pulled from Congress.gov. Issues are petition-style topics that aren't tied to a specific bill — you add your support with one click, then can draft a message to your own Senators about it, the same way you would for a bill.
How does contacting my Senators work?
Enter your ZIP code on a bill or issue's page, and Roll Call shows your two Senators alongside an editable, pre-written message about that specific bill or issue, plus a link to each Senator's official contact page. It's copy-and-paste rather than a one-click "send" button — Senate offices don't publish direct email addresses, so there's no way for the site to actually deliver a message on your behalf. This only covers Senators, not your House Representative, since a ZIP code reliably maps to a state but not always to a single congressional district.
What happens to a bill after it becomes law?
It moves from the homepage to the Became Law archive. Its vote tally and page stick around — nothing gets deleted.
Magic Code & privacy
Are my votes private?
Yes, absolutely — no personal information is collected or stored. This is a completely anonymous survey.
What's a Magic Code?
An optional word or phrase you choose so your votes and support follow you across browsers and devices, without ever creating an account or password. Look for the "Magic Code" pill in the nav bar.
What happens if I forget my Magic Code?
There's no way to recover it — it isn't tied to an email or account, so nobody, including us, can look it up. If you forget it, that browser just goes back to voting anonymously under a fresh identity.
Can someone else use my Magic Code?
Yes — anyone who knows your Magic Code can load the same profile, so keep it private the same way you'd guard a shared password.
Is my IP address stored?
Only as a one-way cryptographic hash alongside each vote, which can't be reversed back into your actual IP address. It exists purely to catch obvious abuse (the same handful of IPs voting hundreds of times) and is never shown anywhere on the site. See the Privacy page for the full details.