Voting is the part of the session where mistakes cannot be quietly fixed afterwards. Slow down. Say everything twice.
The rules are in Voting procedure. This document is about running one.
Say exactly what is being voted on. Read the clause or name the resolution.
Check that a majority of the members are present. A majority must be present for any decision to
be taken. See Quorum.
Remind the house that during voting all points are out of order, except a point of order about the
conduct of the vote itself.
Remind the house who may abstain and who may not.
A delegate marked present and voting may vote for or against, and may not abstain. A delegate marked absent cannot vote. This comes from the roll call. See Present and voting.
All delegations have full voting rights, including non-member delegations such as non-governmental organisations and United Nations organs. They may vote on amendments and on resolutions.
See Who may vote.
In MEDIMUN, one delegate represents one country in a committee. THIMUN seats two delegates on one country in some of its forums. MEDIMUN does not do this.
Take those in favour, then those against, then abstentions. Count each one fully before moving to the next. Do not let the house put placards up for two of them at once.
Announce each count out loud as you take it.
There are no informal votes. Every vote is real and counts. Do not take a show of hands to see how the room feels.
Say the numbers, then the outcome. "Twenty-two in favour, nineteen against, six abstentions. The resolution passes."
A resolution passes when the number in favour is greater than the number against. Abstentions do not count either way. Record how many there were.
If the vote is tied. It fails.
If someone asks for a recount. A close vote may be recounted, but only if you believe a counting error was made. Delegates must vote the same way again. A recount is not a second chance to change a vote.
The chair never says whether the thing being voted on is good or bad. Not before the vote, not while counting, not when announcing the result.
A chair who does that will draw a point of order, and deserve it. See Chair neutrality.
A motion to divide the house removes abstentions, so delegates must vote for or against.
It is only valid when the number of abstentions is larger than the gap between the votes for and against. Do the arithmetic out loud before accepting it.
It takes a long time. Avoid it where you can. 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 not in order when a resolution fails.
Say this on day one. A room that claps when a resolution fails has humiliated the delegates who wrote it. See Clapping and conduct during voting.
Amendments to clauses pass on a simple majority. Clauses pass on a simple majority. The resolution as a whole needs at least 9 votes out of 15.
If the preambulatory clauses fail as a bloc. In the Security Council the preambulatory clauses are voted on together. The resolution fails with them, unless the house resolves the problem first. This is the case chairs most often get wrong. Say it to the house before the bloc vote, not after.
See Security Council procedure and Pass thresholds.
In MEDIMUN, voting happens in MediBook. A roll call vote also goes through MediBook. This is not at the chair's discretion. See Chair voting in MediBook.
Leave time for the vote when you set the debate time. Reaching the end of a session with an untaken vote is a planning failure, not bad luck. See Planning committee time.
SCREENSHOT: /medibook/sessions/22/committees/ga1/debate/control - the voting panel with a vote open and the running count visible