standing committee with two co-chairs

[Guest Patti]

If a standing committee has two co-chairs, are each counted when determining a quorum or is it just one vote for the standing committee?

[jstackpo]

Good question...  for which RONR has no answer.  Indeed RONR strongly recommends that co-chairs (or co-anything) be avoided.  Page 176.

Also click here for a more extended response.

[Richard Brown]

4 minutes ago, jstackpo said:

Good question...  for which RONR has no answer.  Indeed RONR strongly recommends that co-chairs (or co-anything) be avoided.  Page 176.

Also click here for a more extended response.

Thanks for jumping in so quickly, John! Your article, which you linked to, is a must read for anyone in an organization that has or is even thinking about co-chairs or co-anythings.

[Dan Honemann]

But if Patti's committee does have two members who are designated as co-chairs, I can't imagine why each of them would not be counted when determining the presence or absence of a quorum, or why each of them, if present, would not be entitled to cast a vote whenever a vote is taken during committee meetings, unless this organization has some strange rule to the contrary. They may be co-chairs, but they are still two different members.

 

[Richard Brown]

2 hours ago, Daniel H. Honemann said:

But if Patti's committee does have two members who are designated as co-chairs, I can't imagine why each of them would not be counted when determining the presence or absence of a quorum, or why each of them, if present, would not be entitled to cast a vote whenever a vote is taken during committee meetings, unless this organization has some strange rule to the contrary. They may be co-chairs, but they are still two different members.

 

I agree.  As our old friend "Edgar Guest" used to say, "You count heads, not hats".