Dr.

[Guest Lee Field]

If the bylaws are silent regarding proxies, are they allowed - or must the bylaws specify that proxy votes are allowed?
 

[Joshua Katz]

Proxies are not allowed, per RONR, unless permitted in your bylaws (or an applicable procedural law).

[Richard Brown]

2 hours ago, Guest Lee Field said:

If the bylaws are silent regarding proxies, are they allowed - or must the bylaws specify that proxy votes are allowed?
 

I agree with the response by Joshua Katz.  If your organization is incorporated or is in the nature of a homeowner association, you might check your state law on the subject of proxies.  Some state laws require that they be permitted. 

[Dan Honemann]

7 hours ago, Guest Lee Field said:

If the bylaws are silent regarding proxies, are they allowed - or must the bylaws specify that proxy votes are allowed?
 

"Proxy voting is not permitted in ordinary deliberative assemblies unless the laws of the state in which the society is incorporated require it, or the charter or bylaws of the organization provide for it. Ordinarily it should neither be allowed nor required, because proxy voting is incompatible with the essential characteristics of a deliberative assembly in which membership is individual, personal, and nontransferable. In a stock corporation, on the other hand, where the ownership is transferable, the voice and vote of the member also is transferable, by use of a proxy. But in a nonstock corporation, where membership is usually on the same basis as in an unincorporated, voluntary association, voting by proxy should not be permitted unless the state's corporation law—as applying to nonstock corporations—absolutely requires it." (RONR, 11th ed., pp. 428-429)