Nominating Committee member voted by phone

[Guest lori Riley]

Our Nominations Committee consists of 7 members plus the chairman.  The Chair only votes in the case of a tie.  Theoretically there shouldn't be a tie if all members vote.  There were 2 candidates proposed for the office of President.  One member of the committee was absent.  There was no debate or discussion between committee members about the 2 candidates.  The vote was a ballot vote. The vote was tied 3 - 3.  The chair was about to vote to break the tie when one member said to call the missing member and get that members vote.  The member was reached by phone and cast her vote verbally. No longer a tie, so candidate was decided.  Was this a legal vote?  Another piece of information that may or may not be relevant is that the Committee Chair has many personal issues with the sitting President (one of the candidates), and actually opened the meeting by saying this.  The member that stopped the Chair from casting the deciding vote thought that a)they should get the 7th member's vote, and b)that the Chair had a conflict of interest and should not be able to decide. Can anyone say that this Nomination is out of order?

[Hieu H. Huynh]

I think the info in FAQ #1, #9, and #19 may be useful.

[Richard Brown]

I agree with Hieu re the frequently asked questions.  I would add that not liking a potential candidate.... for whatever reason... is not the type of conflict that should cause a member to refrain from voting any more that liking a particular candidate would.  That's what voting is all about:  to indicate a preference.  The chairman's "stake" in this seems to me no different than that of every other member to have each member's  favorite candidate win and each member's least favorite candidate lose.

 

btw, do your bylaws actually say that the chairman of the nominating committee votes only in the case of a tie, or is that just a custom?   Is it contained in your special rules of order or in the instructions to the committee?  Per RONR, the chairman of a small board or committee participates and votes along with the other members.  RONR p. 500.   Also, the chairman votes along with everyone else when the vote is by ballot.

 

Allowing the absent member to vote by phone  was not appropriate.  Since that vote was illegal and apparently affected the result, I believe it constitutes a continuing breach and is subject to a point of order.  If that vote could have affected the result, the nomination by the committee is null  and void, but it can be declared null and void only at a meeting.   A new committee meeting should be held  asap to try again to come up  with a nominee.  And, unless you have a rule to the contrary, the chairman can vote along with everyone else.

 

Edited to add:  Although what was done was not proper, it may well be that the chair of the committee and the committee members all decide that they would rather leave well enough alone and that nobody wants to raise a point of order and cause a big stink.  I would not find fault with that.  Based on your apparent custom of the chair voting only to break a tie, it seems that a majority of the committee members, not including the president chairman, did express a preference.  You can do it the right way next time, though. 

 

Edited again to change "president" to "chairman" in the next to last sentence above.

[Guest lori Riley]

Thank you both for responses.  OK -- after reading the FAQs, it appears that since we do not define in our bylaws how someone would vote at a committee meeting via telephone, that the vote was not valid.  Should the nomination committee meet again and re-vote?  How would you correct this procedure?

[Guest lori Riley]

Oh, sorry. Somehow did not see the entire response from Richard Brown.  You have answered my questions!  Thank you for you prompt replies!

[Guest Lori Rileyi]

Oh -- one more point to add.  It is difficult to get all of the members together during the summer (when the nominating committee must meet).  Therefore we have had in the past kind of an informal process.  Last year, for instance some of the first candidates turned down the opportunity to run for office, and members of the committee were out of town.  Emails were sent out to get member feedback on new candidates, and the nominations proceeded from there.  If this wasn't done nominations would not have been completed in time. Does this informal past culture and the practicality of completing the task change anything in your opinion?  I will definitely move to address this in our bylaws, but in the meantime?

[Josh Martin]

Oh -- one more point to add. It is difficult to get all of the members together during the summer (when the nominating committee must meet). Therefore we have had in the past kind of an informal process. Last year, for instance some of the first candidates turned down the opportunity to run for office, and members of the committee were out of town. Emails were sent out to get member feedback on new candidates, and the nominations proceeded from there. If this wasn't done nominations would not have been completed in time. Does this informal past culture and the practicality of completing the task change anything in your opinion? I will definitely move to address this in our bylaws, but in the meantime?

No, this doesn't change anything. Custom is not sufficient to authorize absentee voting, although, if it is impractical for a committee to meet, the report may include what every member of the committee has agreed to.

[Edgar Guest]

Our Nominations Committee consists of 7 members plus the chairman.

 

If the chairman is a member of the committee then the committee consists of eight members.

[Hieu H. Huynh]

Also, the candidates could be nominated from the floor (unless your rules provide otherwise).