Before secret votes are revealed, players may announce how they intend to vote, but they can't reveal what they actually wrote down until all votes are simultaneously revealed. Players can lie about how they intend to vote before the votes are revealed.

Abilities that trigger "whenever players finish voting" trigger once all players have voted or once all secret votes are revealed, but they won't go on the stack until the current spell or ability finishes resolving.

If you control Elrond of the Secret Council's ability, it is usually best to vote for aid. Gaining control of a creature you already control is only occasionally helpful.

Each player must vote for one of the available options. They can't abstain.

No player votes until the spell or ability resolves. Any responses to that spell or ability must be made without knowing the outcome of the vote.

If you have multiple votes, you can vote for fellowship multiple times. If you do, you can choose the same creature each time.

The phrase "the vote is tied" refers only to when there is more than one choice that received the most votes. For example, if a 5-player vote from among three different choices ends 3 votes to 1 vote to 1 vote, the vote isn't tied.

To secretly vote, each player writes down their chosen option without showing it to anyone else. Each player then keeps their vote secret until all players simultaneously reveal their votes.

After the votes are revealed, starting with the player whose turn it is and proceeding in turn order, each player who voted fellowship chooses a creature they control for each of their fellowship votes. Then the controller of Elrond of the White Council's ability gains control of those creatures and they gain the listed ability. Finally, that player puts a +1/+1 counter on each creature they control for each aid vote.