Motion to Set Order of Vote

In Model UN, when a committee has more than one draft resolution on the floor (or multiple amendments to a single draft), the order in which they are put to a vote can materially affect outcomes — especially if some drafts are mutually exclusive or if delegates are likely to vote yes on whichever passes first. A motion to set the order of vote allows delegates to propose a specific sequence, rather than defaulting to the order in which drafts were introduced or submitted to the dais.

Typical practice varies by conference circuit:

• North American collegiate circuit (NCSC/NMUN-style): The chair usually announces a default order (often the order of submission), and any delegate may move to reorder. The motion generally requires a second and passes by simple majority. Some rulebooks allow competing proposed orders, voted on in the order moved.
• THIMUN / Harvard-style procedure: Draft resolutions are normally taken in the order tabled, and reordering motions are less common; amendments are voted before the main draft.
• General Assembly real-world practice: Under Rule 91 of the UN General Assembly Rules of Procedure, proposals are voted in the order they were submitted unless the Assembly decides otherwise — the same logic MUN borrows.

Strategically, blocs sponsoring a "compromise" draft often move to vote it first, hoping that once a resolution passes, competing drafts become moot (in many rulesets, passage of one resolution does not automatically kill others, but in some it does — check the conference's rules). Conversely, sponsors of a weaker draft may want to vote last, after stronger competitors fail.

The motion is not debatable in most rulesets, though some chairs permit one speaker for and one against. It is in order only once the committee has moved into voting procedure (or immediately before doing so), and the house is typically closed to outside materials at that point.