[United States Senate Manual, 104th Congress]
[S. Doc. 104-1]
[Standing Rules of the Senate]
[Page 10]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


        12                            RULE XII

                                  VOTING PROCEDURE

      12.1      1. When the yeas and nays are ordered, the names of 
            Senators shall be called alphabetically; and each Senator 
            shall, without debate, declare his assent or dissent to the 
            question, unless excused by the Senate; and no Senator shall 
            be permitted to vote after the decision shall have been 
            announced by the Presiding Officer, but may for sufficient 
            reasons, with unanimous consent, change or withdraw his 
            vote. No motion to suspend this rule shall be in order, nor 
            shall the Presiding Officer entertain any request to suspend 
            it by unanimous consent.
      12.2      2. When a Senator declines to vote on call of his name, 
            he shall be required to assign his reasons therefor, and 
            having assigned them, the Presiding Officer shall submit the 
            question to the Senate: ``Shall the Senator for the reasons 
            assigned by him, be excused from voting?'' which shall be 
            decided without debate; and these proceedings shall be had 
            after the rollcall and before the result is announced; and 
            any further proceedings in reference thereto shall be after 
            such announcement.
      12.3      3. A Member, notwithstanding any other provisions of 
            this rule, may decline to vote, in committee or on the 
            floor, on any matter when he believes that his voting on 
            such a matter would be a conflict of interest.
      12.4      4. No request by a Senator for unanimous consent for the 
            taking of a final vote on a specified date upon the passage 
            of a bill or joint resolution shall be submitted to the 
            Senate for agreement thereto until after a quorum call 
            ordered for the purpose by the Presiding Officer, it shall 
            be disclosed that a quorum of the Senate is present; and 
            when a unanimous consent is thus given the same shall 
            operate as the order of the Senate, but any unanimous 
            consent may be revoked by another unanimous consent granted 
            in the manner prescribed above upon one day's notice.