Our church congregation had a special meeting where the Board had a motion to amend 2 bylaws and told the congregation that we could not change any of the amendments because there was absentee ballots but only could vote on them. I read from Robert's Rules of Order 12th Edition by Henry M. Robert III page 84 9:16 under special meetings that state "When a main motion related to business specified in the call of a special meeting is pending, it is as fully open to germaine amendment as if it had been moved at a regular meeting. The parliamentarian quoted from a different Robert's Rule for Order edition and state the rule "Rules protecting absentees cannot be suspended, even by unanimous consent or an actual unanimous vote, because the absentees do not consent to such suspension. For example, the rules requiring the presence of a quorum, restricting business transacted at a special meeting to that mentioned in the call of the meeting, and requiring previous notice of a proposed amendment to the bylaws protect absentees, if there are any and cannot be suspended when any member is absent. I do not understand this rule as it pertains to anyone able to change the amendment even if there are absentee ballots or does the resolved motion have to stand as written. Does the congregation have the power to change the amendment even with absentee ballots??
