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Guest JBoyd

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Can a member in a special meeting, request a "Standing Rule", to allow for a vote which has customarily been a majority vote of the members in the past. Changing it to a Signature vote posted for 5 business days related to ratifying a contract. Our by-laws define 2/3 majority for amending or changing by-laws, majority for general business, and secret ballot.

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Can a member in a special meeting, request a "Standing Rule", to allow for a vote which has customarily been a majority vote of the members in the past. Changing it to a Signature vote posted for 5 business days related to ratifying a contract. Our by-laws define 2/3 majority for amending or changing by-laws, majority for general business, and secret ballot.

Is it in the bylaws or just custom? If it is something in the bylaws, you would need to amend the bylaws to change it. Also, RONR does not talk about a Signature Vote.

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Can a member in a special meeting, request [X]

A special meeting cannot transact any business which was not listed in the mailed call-to-meeting.

So, assuming your scenario describes something which spontaneously popped up in a special meeting, the answer is "No."

Someone would have to include such a thing in the written call-to-meeting of a special meeting, or just adopt the rule in a regular meeting.

Beware that a special rule of order (a way of voting would be a rule of order) will require notice. So you cannot do it spontaneously at a regular meeting, either.

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A special meeting cannot transact any business which was not listed in the mailed call-to-meeting.

So, assuming your scenario describes something which spontaneously popped up in a special meeting, the answer is "No."

Someone would have to include such a thing in the written call-to-meeting of a special meeting, or just adopt the rule in a regular meeting.

Beware that a special rule of order (a way of voting would be a rule of order) will require notice. So you cannot do it spontaneously at a regular meeting, either.

What??!?

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How else would the organization create a permanent rule, which differs from the default rule in the parliamentary authority?

From Original Poster JBoyd's description, I think it likely that h/she is not using "Standing Rule" in its precise technical sense: rather, the intent is to change the method of voting on this contract only. That's not transacting business. I'll further blue-sky that a "Signature vote" is what RONR calls a signed ballot. Ordinarily, I'd say that changing a voting threshold, or the method of voting, for a special meeting's business is a purely procedural matter that is proper. I do hesitate to suggest that it would therefore be acceptable to go with this five-business-day procedure.

(And not to pick nits, but even if JBoyd's group does intend to adopt a rule with an ongoing effect, remember that they can do so by a vote of the entire membership, without previous notice.)

JBoyd, how about it?

[Typos fixed 2 minutes later]

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