Legislative glossary
Roll call vote
Definition
A vote where each member's yes or no is recorded by name, one after another. Used on most substantive legislation.
Why it matters
A roll call puts every member's name next to their vote, permanently. That public record is the lever behind most legislative pressure: advocacy scorecards, primary challenges, and attack ads all start from roll-call votes. Its quieter sibling, the voice vote, passes things without individual accountability, which is exactly why members sometimes prefer it.
In the game
The Bill to Law Game's floor votes resolve as animated roll calls, name by name, including the moment a member you counted on says no.
Related terms
Comes up alongside