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Veto override, explained: how lawmakers can enact a vetoed bill

A veto override lets a legislature enact a bill despite a president’s or governor’s objection. Congress uses a two-thirds rule, while state requirements vary.

Daniel Okafor

By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor

4 min read

A veto override is a legislature’s vote to enact a bill after an executive has vetoed it. In Congress, a vetoed measure can become law if both the House and Senate repass it by the required two-thirds recorded vote, according to the Congressional Research Service.

The federal rule is exact: each chamber needs support from two-thirds of members voting, with a quorum present. State legislatures can also override governors’ vetoes, but their thresholds and counting rules differ by jurisdiction, the National Conference of State Legislatures says.

How a presidential veto override works

Article I, Section 7 governs a returned presidential veto. Under the process described by CRS, the president sends the vetoed bill and objections to the chamber where the measure originated, which records the message and reconsiders the measure.

The chamber of origin acts first. The House considers House bills and House joint resolutions first; the Senate considers Senate bills and Senate joint resolutions first.

If the first chamber does not obtain the two-thirds vote to repass the measure, it dies and the other chamber does not vote on an override, CRS says. The Constitution does not require either chamber to vote directly on repassage; a chamber may refer the vetoed measure to committee, and a measure not repassed before the end of a Congress dies.

The federal vote threshold

The requirement is two-thirds of members voting in each chamber, not necessarily two-thirds of each chamber’s full membership. The vote must be recorded and a quorum must be present.

For example, if 300 House members vote on an override, 200 votes meet the two-thirds threshold. The Senate would still need its own two-thirds vote for the measure to become law.

Regular veto and pocket veto

An override follows a regular veto, in which the president returns a bill to Congress. The American Presidency Project says a bill becomes law without a signature if the president neither signs nor vetoes it within 10 days, excluding Sundays, while Congress remains in session.

If Congress has adjourned before that period ends and the president takes no action, the bill does not become law. That outcome is described as a pocket veto.

Federal and state rules compared

  • Federal government: The House and Senate must each approve repassage by two-thirds of members voting, with a quorum present.
  • State governments: Both legislative chambers may need to vote to override a governor’s veto, with thresholds that can be one-half, three-fifths or two-thirds, according to NCSL.
  • Examples: Alabama requires one-half of elected members; Illinois requires three-fifths of elected members; Florida requires two-thirds of each chamber.
  • Different denominators: State rules may count elected members, chamber membership, members present, or members present and voting.

Some jurisdictions use special rules for certain measures. NCSL lists Alaska as requiring three-fourths of membership for revenue and appropriations bills, compared with two-thirds of membership generally.

What “veto-proof majority” means

A veto-proof majority means one party holds enough seats to meet its jurisdiction’s override threshold without votes from the other party. NCSL also uses “supermajority” as an informal term for that position.

Why the threshold matters

A peer-reviewed study of governors’ budget requests and enacted appropriations from fiscal years 1987 through 2011 found that state legislatures better accommodated governors’ requests in states with higher override requirements. The study supports a limited conclusion: higher thresholds were associated with greater executive influence over those budget outcomes, not with the outcome of every bill.

Frequently asked questions

What vote is needed to override a presidential veto?

Congress needs a recorded two-thirds vote of the members voting in the House and a recorded two-thirds vote of the members voting in the Senate, with a quorum present in each chamber. The threshold is not necessarily two-thirds of each chamber’s full membership.

What happens if one chamber of Congress fails to override a veto?

If the chamber where the measure originated fails to obtain the required two-thirds vote to repass it, the measure dies. The other chamber does not get to consider an override.

Why do state veto-override thresholds differ?

State and territorial rules set different thresholds and ways of counting votes. NCSL lists requirements of one-half, three-fifths and two-thirds, with rules based on such measures as elected members, chamber membership, members present, or members present and voting.

What is a veto-proof majority?

A veto-proof majority is when one party holds enough legislative seats to meet the jurisdiction’s veto-override requirement without votes from the other party. It is also informally called a supermajority.

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