Floor vote
Definition
A floor vote is a vote taken by all members of a full legislative chamber, as opposed to a vote in a smaller committee. It is the step where a bill formally passes or fails in that chamber, after committees have already reviewed, amended, or advanced it.
Why it matters
A bill can clear committee easily and still never get a floor vote if chamber leadership controls the calendar and chooses not to schedule it, a quieter way to kill a bill than voting it down outright. Getting a guaranteed floor vote is often the real fight behind the scenes.
Seen in the wild
In many state legislatures, leadership sets the floor calendar directly, so a bill with committee approval and majority support among members can still die simply by never being scheduled for a floor vote before the session ends.