Voting is how the committee decides. You vote as your country, on amendments and on resolutions.
Your answer at roll call decides how you may vote that day.
Present. You may vote in favour, against, or abstain.
Present and voting. You may vote in favour or against. You cannot abstain.
Absent. You cannot vote.
Answer "present and voting" only if you are sure your country will take a side on everything put to the house. Your answer holds until the next roll call is taken. See Present and voting.
Roll call is taken at the start of every day, and again after breaks. See Roll call.
If you arrive after the roll call. Tell the chairs at once. If you do not, the chairs will ask you for an explanation. A delegate marked absent cannot vote.
A decision needs a majority of the members present. Debate can open with one third of the delegations present. So a room that is full enough to debate is not always full enough to vote. See Quorum.
In MEDIMUN, roll calls are taken in MediBook, and your answer there is what sets your voting rights. See Committee roll calls.
All delegations have full voting rights. That includes non-member delegations such as non-governmental organisations and United Nations organs. They vote on amendments and on resolutions like everyone else. See Who may vote.
The chair announces what is being voted on. Vote on that text and nothing else.
On a resolution you may vote in favour, against, or abstain, unless you answered present and voting.
On an amendment you vote in favour or against. There is no division of the house on an amendment.
In MEDIMUN, voting happens in MediBook. A roll call vote goes through MediBook as well. This is not something a chair chooses. See Voting in MediBook.
A resolution passes when the number in favour is greater than the number against.
Abstentions do not count either way. The chair still records how many there were.
A tied vote fails.
An abstention is not a vote against. It removes you from the count entirely. If you want the resolution to fail, vote against it.
There are no informal votes. Every vote is real and counts. Do not treat any vote as practice.
See Voting procedure and Abstentions.
All points are out of order during voting. The only exception is a point of order about the conduct of the vote itself.
Do not talk, message or move seats during a vote. The chair is counting.
If you are unsure what is being voted on. The chair states it before the vote opens. Ask before the vote begins, not during it. Once voting has started, points are out of order.
If the vote was close. It may be recounted on request, but only if the chair believes a counting error was made. If there is a recount, delegates must vote the same way again. A recount is not a second chance to change your mind.
After a vote, a delegate may move to divide the house. That removes abstentions, so every delegation has to vote in favour or against.
It is only valid when the number of abstentions is larger than the gap between the votes in favour and the votes against. It needs a second, and any objection stops it. See Motion to divide the house.
Clapping is only in order when a resolution as a whole passes. It is not in order after an amendment, and it is not in order when a resolution fails.
Each resolution is debated and voted on in a vacuum. A resolution passing on a topic does not discredit another resolution on the same topic.
The Security Council votes clause by clause, then on the resolution as a whole. Clauses and amendments pass on a simple majority. The resolution as a whole needs at least 9 votes out of 15.
The five permanent members hold a veto. See The veto and Voting and thresholds in the Security Council.
There is usually a plenary session on the last day. All General Assembly delegates come together in one room. Everyone representing the same country sits together, debates together, and acts as one delegate. The country has one vote, whoever casts it. See The plenary session.