    [United States Senate Manual, 107th Congress]
    [S. Doc. 107-1]
    [Standing Rules of the Senate]
    [Pages 10-11]
    [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.

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