janita Posted March 9, 2017 at 02:55 AM Report Share Posted March 9, 2017 at 02:55 AM Do abstentions count? If on a Board of 13 members, 3 vote in favour, 2 vote against and 8 abstain, is the motion carried? The by-laws of our Association state that "in all matters not governed by this By-Law or other rules or regulations of the Association, Robert's Rules of Order, current edition, shall govern". If abstentions don't count, are we allowed to change our by-laws so that they do (i.e. so that we would not need a majority of 7 to approve motions)? Or is this a fundamental democratic convention that we should respect? Our Association has a policy that allows for e-mail votes. The policy requires a majority of 7 to approve e-mail motions. Abstentions count -- so that 5 votes in favour and 8 abstentions would be a positive vote and carried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hieu H. Huynh Posted March 9, 2017 at 03:14 AM Report Share Posted March 9, 2017 at 03:14 AM See FAQ #6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Coronite Posted March 9, 2017 at 12:29 PM Report Share Posted March 9, 2017 at 12:29 PM 9 hours ago, janita said: If abstentions don't count, are we allowed to change our by-laws so that they do (i.e. so that we would not need a majority of 7 to approve motions)? Or is this a fundamental democratic convention that we should respect? It seems to me that if you did put that in your bylaws (which is not a good idea, BTW) you WOULD end up needing 7 affirmative votes to approve motions. A better option is to stick with the provisions of RONR, referenced in the link Mr. Huynh gave you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g40 Posted March 9, 2017 at 09:17 PM Report Share Posted March 9, 2017 at 09:17 PM Be very careful in such changes. Just one, possible, example: If you require an affirmative vote of a majority of a 13 member Board and the requirement is of positions and not actual members, then vacancies on the Board could prevent any motion from passing - until vacancies were filled. Even requiring a majority of members to vote affirmatively could be a problem if there are commonly absences from meetings. Perhaps it might be more productive to determine why there are so many abstentions. Perhaps there is (and has been) inadequate education or learning about the matter from members. Perhaps the members are not taking the issues seriously. Or something else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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