Word of the Day: Roll Call

Roll Call [N.]

Definition:
The reading aloud of a list of names of people, as in a classroom or military post, to determine who is present or absent; a voting process, esp. in the U.S. Congress, in which legislators are called on by name and allowed either to cast their vote or to abstain.

A Model UN conference begins with a roll call, during which staff of the Dais reads aloud the names of each member state in the committee. When a delegate's country's name is called, he or she may respond "present" or "present and voting." A delegate responding "present and voting" may not abstain on a substantive vote. Taking the roll call is important for calcuation of the required votes for different procedures.

Derivatives:
"Roll" is an official list of names. There are many types of rolls:
eg. employment roll
pay roll
honor roll

Examples:
The Chair made a roll call = The Chair called/took the roll.

The delegate of Hungary was absent at the roll call.

Let's talk about the "roll call voting" in another Word of the Day.