FAQ
Explanation of MEP voting results
This document aims to clearly explain the differences between the ways the current Members of the European Parliament can vote and how such votes are reflected in Votemap.eu graphics and analytics.
Vote options:
- For
- Against
- Abstained
- Did not vote
For
Technical:
If a MEP voted FOR a legislative or amendment, they successfully fulfilled all of such requirements: 1) They WERE present in the hemicycle. 2) They DID DECIDE to actively press one of the 3 available buttons representing their opinions on the current vote. 3) They proactively chose to agree with the vote.
Descriptive:
A MEP decided to vote for a legislative or amendment that they agreed with the description of, and so they used their vote to agree.
Example:
Johann Sebastian Bach attended the current voting session in the European Parliament hemicycle. He supported the current form of the text being voted in and thus cast his vote as a FOR to signal that he fully agrees with the wording.
Why do MEPs do this?
MEPs vote for certain legislation or amendments because they or their political groups agree with them. A MEP might not always vote as he does to include his own opinion but to help the group push its policy.
Against
Technical:
If a MEP voted AGAINST a legislation or amendment, they successfully fulfilled all of such requirements: 1) They WERE present in the hemicycle. 2) They DID DECIDE to actively press one of the 3 available buttons representing their opinions on the current vote. 3) They proactively chose to disagree with the vote.
Descriptive:
A MEP decided to vote against a legislative or amendment that they disagreed with the description of, and so they voted to disagree by using their vote.
Example:
Johann Sebastian Bach attended the current voting session in the European Parliament hemicycle. He did not support the current form of the text being voted in and thus cast his vote as AGAINST to signal that he fully disagrees with the wording.
Why do MEPs do this?
MEPs vote against a certain legislation or amendment because they or their political groups disagree with them. A MEP might not always vote as he does to include his own opinion, but to rather help the group to push their policy.
Abstained
Technical:
If an MEP voted to ABSTAIN from a legislative or amendment, they successfully fulfilled all of such requirements: 1) They WERE present in the hemicycle. 2) They DID DECIDE to actively press one of the 3 available buttons representing their opinions on the current vote. 3) They proactively chose to neither agree nor disagree with the vote.
Descriptive:
A MEP decided to vote to abstain from a legislative or amendment for reasons that they cannot either agree or disagree with the description of such and so they voted to abstain by using their vote.
Example:
Johann Sebastian Bach attended the current voting session in the European Parliament hemicycle. He did not fully support or fully disagree with the current form of the text being voted in and thus cast his vote as ABSTAIN to signal that he still wants to voice his opinion on the wording of such text, although he cannot fully support it.
Why do MEPs do this?
MEPs vote to abstain from certain legislation or amendment because they or their political groups either don't have an opinion on the said topic or simply don't want to approve of it. An abstaining vote can more or less be interpreted as a soft “against” because only a certain number of votes “for” the text can get the text approved. A MEP might not always vote as he does to include his own opinion, but rather help the group to push their policy.
Excused
Technical:
If a MEP is marked as EXCUSED: 1) They were NOT PRESENT in the hemicycle. 2) They formally NOTIFIED THE PARLIAMENT about their absence. 3) Their absence is officially justified.
Descriptive:
A MEP was absent but submitted a formal excuse to the Parliament. Their absence is officially recorded and distinguished from an unexplained absence.
Example:
Johann Sebastian Bach could not attend due to an official delegation trip and formally notified the Parliament. He is therefore marked as EXCUSED.
Why do MEPs do this?
MEPs may be absent for official reasons such as diplomatic missions, international conferences, or formally communicated medical reasons.
Skipped (Did not vote)
Technical:
If a MEP SKIPPED a vote: 1) They were NOT PRESENT in the hemicycle. 2) They DID NOT submit a formal excuse to the Parliament. 3) Their absence is not officially registered.
Descriptive:
A MEP was absent without submitting a formal excuse. Unlike Excused, their absence is not officially justified.
Example:
Johann Sebastian Bach did not attend the voting session and submitted no official excuse. He therefore SKIPPED the vote.
Why do MEPs do this?
MEPs may miss votes for personal or logistical reasons without formally notifying the Parliament — such as lobbyist meetings, personal issues, or travel delays.