Legislative glossary
Whip count
Definition
An estimate of who will vote yes, no, or undecided, built by the sponsor's office through one-on-one outreach.
Why it matters
A whip count is the difference between strategy and hope. Before any consequential vote, someone, the sponsor's office, party leadership, the advocates, calls every member and sorts them: solid yes, lean yes, undecided, lean no, hard no. Good whip counts decide when a bill comes to the floor; bad ones end careers. The cardinal rule of legislating: never call the vote until you know the answer.
In the game
The Bill to Law Game keeps a live whip board through both floor stages. You'll spend Political Capital on persuasion calls, target the genuinely movable, and decide when the count is strong enough to risk the vote.
Related terms
Comes up alongside