Arlen Specter
Senator for Pennsylvania · Democrat
Born 1930 · Died 2012
When Arlen Specter changed parties
- Republican → DemocratChanged from Republican to Democrat on April 30, 2009, while serving in the Senate.We searched the Congressional Record from Apr 28 to Jun 30, 2009 and found no statement in which they explain this change.
Dates and parties: congress-legislators, checked October 27, 2026. Reasons are shown only in the member's own words from an official record, and are never summarized by us.
Arlen Specter
- S. 4054 · Notice Pleading Restoration Act of 2010 December 22, 2010 · In committee
- S. 4045 · Armed Career Criminal Sentencing Act of 2010 December 17, 2010 · In committee
- S. 4033 · Restoration of Legal Rights for Claimants under Holocaust-Era Insurance Policies Act of 2010 December 15, 2010 · In committee
- S. 4032 · Designer Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2010 December 15, 2010 · In committee
- S. 3940 · A bill to designate the Federal building and United States courthouse located at 700 Grant Street in Pittsbur… November 15, 2010 · In committee
5 terms
| Chamber | Represents | Party | Term dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Pennsylvania | Republican, then Democrat | January 4, 2005 – January 3, 2011 |
| Senate | Pennsylvania | Republican | January 6, 1999 – January 3, 2005 |
| Senate | Pennsylvania | Republican | January 5, 1993 – January 3, 1999 |
| Senate | Pennsylvania | Republican | January 6, 1987 – January 3, 1993 |
| Senate | Pennsylvania | Republican | January 5, 1981 – January 3, 1987 |
Source: congress-legislators, a public-domain record of every member of Congress, checked October 27, 2026.
- Article I, Section 1 — all legislative powers are given to Congress
- Article I, Section 3, Clause 1 — how senators are chosen (changed by the 17th Amendment)
- Article I, Section 8, Clause 1 — the powers of Congress
What they did most recently
The member's own vote on each House or Senate roll call.
Ideology, measured from every vote they cast
DW-NOMINATE first dimension (Voteview, UCLA), shown against the 111th Congress Senate.
Every roll-call vote on file
Select any row to open that measure's file. The Print button prints that vote.
Record timeline
· Roll-call votes
Voted Yea — On the Nomination: PN 1576 (Senate Vote 299 (111th Congress, 2nd Session)). Result as recorded: Nomination Confirmed
· Roll-call votes
Voted Yea — On the Resolution of Ratification: TREATYDOC1115 (Senate Vote 298 (111th Congress, 2nd Session)). Result as recorded: Resolution of Ratification Agreed to
· Bills sponsored
Latest official action on S. 4054: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
· Bills sponsored
Introduced as sponsor: S. 4054 (111th Congress): Notice Pleading Restoration Act of 2010
· Roll-call votes
Voted Nay — On the Amendment: TREATYDOC1115 (Senate Vote 297 (111th Congress, 2nd Session)). Result as recorded: Amendment Rejected
· Roll-call votes
Voted Nay — On the Amendment: TREATYDOC1115 (Senate Vote 296 (111th Congress, 2nd Session)). Result as recorded: Amendment Rejected
· Roll-call votes
Voted Nay — On the Amendment: TREATYDOC1115 (Senate Vote 295 (111th Congress, 2nd Session)). Result as recorded: Amendment Rejected
· Roll-call votes
Voted Yea — On the Motion to Table: TREATYDOC1115 (Senate Vote 294 (111th Congress, 2nd Session)). Result as recorded: Motion to Table Agreed to
· Roll-call votes
Voted Nay — On the Amendment: TREATYDOC1115 (Senate Vote 293 (111th Congress, 2nd Session)). Result as recorded: Amendment Rejected
· Roll-call votes
Voted Yea — On the Cloture Motion: TREATYDOC1115 (Senate Vote 292 (111th Congress, 2nd Session)). Result as recorded: Cloture Motion Agreed to
Open the full record timeline Download this timeline
- Bills cosponsored: No official record has been found at this time. We are watching for updates.
- Committee assignments: No official record has been found at this time. We are watching for updates.
- Floor remarks (Congressional Record): No official record has been found at this time. We are watching for updates.
- Campaign finance (FEC): No official record has been found at this time. We are watching for updates.
- Lobbyist contribution reports: No official record has been found at this time. We are watching for updates.
- Court and ethics records: No official record has been found at this time. We are watching for updates.
Each entry is a record we hold from an official source, dated and worded as that record states it, with a link to the official government page. Records without an official link are not listed.
Recorded positions over time
On 10 measures the recorded Yea or Nay differs between two votes. On 149 measures the recorded position is the same across two or more votes.
Different questions on the same bill can lead to different votes. Read each question before drawing a conclusion.
Last 96 roll calls
Votes cast by year
Court cases naming this member in their official role
Federal cases whose public caption explicitly names this person as a United States senator or representative in an official capacity, during a term recorded in this file. The date on each line is the date of that record, not necessarily the day the case was filed. Being named in an official-capacity case is not a finding about the person, and nothing here says who won. Personal matters are left out entirely.
We have not found a public court record that clearly names this person in their official role, matches the dates they held office, and comes from a court we can follow. That does not mean no case exists. It means we have no qualifying record to show here.
Case records come from each court's own docket and from the United States Courts Opinions collection published by the Government Publishing Office. Select any case to open the official record. Search another politician or see sources and methodology.
Voting records reproduced from the official Journals of the House and Senate (compiled by Voteview, UCLA) · each measure's file links its official government record · sources & methodology · data as of October 29, 2026