cloture

noun, verb — 2 senses

cloture

noun

US /ˈkloʊ.t͡ʃɝ/ · UK /ˈkloʊ.tjʊə(ɹ)/

Etymology Borrowed from French clôture (“closure”). Doublet of closure and clausure.

1

Government, Law, Politics US In legislative assemblies that permit unlimited debate (that is, a filibuster): a motion, procedure or rule by which debate is ended so that a vote may be taken on the matter. For example, in the United States Senate, a three-fifths majority vote of the body is required to invoke cloture and terminate debate.

  • Now, a filibuster typically begins when a Senator or group of Senators signals their intent to filibuster – which can be done by a private conversation with the majority leader or by quietly placing a bill or nomination on hold. Given the modern Senate's scarce floor time, this threat is usually enough to table the disputed issue until the dissenting Senators cave or until there are definitely enough votes to invoke cloture.2010 April 22, Mimi Murray Digby Marziani, Diana Lee, “Statement for the Record, Brennan Center for Justice, New York, NY”, in Examining the Filibuster: Hearings before the Committee on Rules and Administration, United States Senate, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, Second Session, April 22, 2010, May 19, 2010, June 23, 2010, July 28, 2010, and September 22 and 29, 2010 (S. Hrg. 111-706), Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, →ISBN, page 112:
Synonyms
closure
Related terms
claustrophobia, cloister

cloture

verb

Etymology Borrowed from French clôture (“closure”). Doublet of closure and clausure.

1

To end legislative debate by this means.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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