Motion for a Roll Call Vote

In Model UN, a Motion for a Roll Call Vote asks the chair to poll delegations one by one, in alphabetical order, so that each country's position on a draft resolution or amendment is publicly recorded. It is typically in order only during substantive voting procedure and only in committees that simulate bodies where roll call voting is standard practice, such as the UN Security Council or the General Assembly plenary.

When the motion passes (rules vary by conference — some require a simple majority, others allow any single delegate to request it, mirroring Rule 87 of the UN General Assembly Rules of Procedure), the chair calls each delegation in turn. Delegates respond with one of several options depending on the rules in force:

• Yes / No / Abstain — the standard responses.
• Yes with rights or No with rights — reserves time after voting concludes to explain the vote, usually when the delegate's position diverges from the bloc or the apparent national policy.
• Pass — defers the vote until a second round; in most rulebooks a delegation that passes the first time must vote yes or no the second time and cannot abstain.

Roll call voting serves three purposes: it creates a transparent record of alignments, it pressures delegations to commit publicly to a position (useful for awards judging and for realistic simulation of high-stakes votes), and it allows delegates to deliver short rights-of-explanation speeches that can shape post-vote narrative.

In the real UN, roll call votes are common in the Security Council and are sometimes requested in the General Assembly on contentious items — for example, the recorded vote on Resolution ES-11/1 condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 2 March 2022, where 141 states voted yes, 5 no, and 35 abstained. Most MUN conferences default to placard voting and treat roll call as an optional, debate-extending tool.