Gary Novosielski

In any case, the changes cannot simply be made by the parliamentarian without a vote¹ of the membership, unless some very unusual provisions are to be found in your existing rules. __________ ¹ Including the opportunity to debate and amend the proposed changes.

The member is incorrect. Motions take effect immediately upon the announcement by the chair that the motion has been adopted, except in the case where a motion contains a proviso delaying its effective date until some future time or contingency. Approval of minutes has no bearing on the situation. Ask the member for a citation in RONR supporting his claim. He will be unable to provide one.

That's what I thought I said until I re-read it and discovered that apparently I only said it my head.

The word normally suggests to me only that since the majority of societies would qualify as ordinary societies, to which the rule does apply, it would be safe to say that the rule would normally apply. It would not apply in those instances where express provisions to the contrary exist, but that is not the norm. The rule does not use the word must, but it does say that the practice is followed except where the bylaws provide otherwise, and that seems unambiguous.

I agree that the president cannot nominate himself (or anyone) in anticipation of a vacancy that has not yet occurred.

Some organizations, by rule or custom, establish the minimum number of oars in the water that shall be required.

I think it would fall under the requirements for requesting leave to read papers.

Rather than attempting to control the distribution of the ballots, I believe the most reliable method is to establish a polling location with a ballot box, and as each member approaches the polling place, their name is checked off against the membership list, their ballot is verified as having been folded twice, and is then placed in the ballot box. I would suggest that an accurate and up-to-date membership list is absolutely essential to any properly conducted ballot vote.

Putting aside for a moment the question of whether or the board can appoint in the event of an incomplete election, it seems clear that if the board is empowered to appoint, it is not empowered to appoint anyone who is ineligible. It also appears that the only person willing to serve is ineligible due to term limits in the bylaws, so I agree with Mr. Brown that this would not seem to solve anything.

I think no more than a point of order would be necessary.

That would apply to filling a vacancy in an unexpired term. But it appears that what you have here is an incomplete election, and the remedy for incomplete elections is to complete them.

"Legal" isn't something we get involved in. The minutes will note how each member voted if a roll-call vote was ordered on the motion. If the vote was not a roll-call but some sort of counted vote, then only the vote counts in favor and against are noted in the minutes. If a non-counted vote such as a rising vote, show of hands (not counted) or a voice vote, then only the fact that it was approved or rejected is noted in the minutes.

No, you have to follow your bylaws. If nobody is willing to do the job, then you can amend the bylaws to remove that term restriction, or to eliminate the office completely, or to disband the organization entirely, which may be wise if nobody cares enough about it to help out.

Ban you from what? If you're not a member, you're pretty much banned from exercising any of the rights of membership already.

Your former VP is now president. You now have a vacancy in the office of vice president, unless you've already filled it. The former president can only become president again in the same way any other member might become president, such as being elected next time.

I don't see anything there about co-chairs. If that's correct, then you haven't got any.

Voting by e-mail is not permitted under the rules in RONR, unless your bylaws provide that it is, and since you have no bylaws, I suspect that's not the case. Also, if the rules in RONR apply, you cannot specify in advance that the membership's only options are to approve or reject the bylaws. The membership has the right to debate and amend motions on the floor, refer them to a committee, and a variety of other options.

True, but I would take issue with the assertion that an assessment of whether it is "Uniwise" [sic] must await the results of this particular case. The fact that such a practice is unwise arises from more than a century of experience in countless organizations.

The question arises, however, as it did in another thread: Are we sure that the vice president of the society is vice president of the board? While it is typically the case that the president presides over both general and board meetings, the specifics in the case of the vice president can sometimes require some digging to figure out.

Abstensions are never counted as negative votes, since they are not votes. Furthermore, negative votes cannot be cast in an election. The only way to vote against a candidate is to vote for another candidate However, when a 2/3 vote of the entire board is the vote threshold, the number of votes required to elect becomes a fixed number, independent of the number present and voting, so abstentions (and negative votes) have the same effect by not adding to that number

I believe that the assembly, by failing to raise a timely point of order, has effectively snoozed, and has therefore lost.

Yet Sunshine Laws often require it. Not the name, of course, that would be improper for several reasons. But the motion might be "to go into executive session to discuss a matter concerning employee performance." (or conduct, or whatever X. is being accused of.)

...formerly Gödelfan.

Is this a disciplinary proceeding of some sort? If so, you'll need to follow the rules in your bylaws that pertain to this situation; If your bylaws are silent on discipline, then you need to follow the rules in Chapter XX (twenty) of RONR. If this isn't discipline related, then the member has the right to vote, but should not vote if he has a personal or pecuniary interest (not shared with other members) in the outcome of the vote.

Count de Monéy?