Amending a motion

[Guest Hal Schmidt]

When a motion is made and seconded and after further discussion is begun can an amendment to the original motion be made? If so, what is the procedure and order of voting on the amendment and the original motion.

[Chris Harrison]

When a motion is made and seconded and after further discussion is begun can an amendment to the original motion be made? If so, what is the procedure and order of voting on the amendment and the original motion.

Oh yeah! There is a whole section dedicated to the motion to Amend. See RONR pp. 125-160.

[hmtcastle]

If so, what is the procedure and order of voting on the amendment and the original motion.

You debate and vote on the amendment and then return to considering the main motion, either in its original form (if the amendment failed) or in its amended form (if the amendment was adopted).

This process is sometimes referred to as "perfecting" the motion.

[David A Foulkes]

When a motion is made and seconded and after further discussion is begun can an amendment to the original motion be made? If so, what is the procedure and order of voting on the amendment and the original motion.

Hal - there are many ways to amend a motion, including adding or inserting words or sentences, striking out parts of the motion, and even substituting whole paragraphs. There are some restrictions as to how these apply, and reading the largest chapter devoted to a single motion will be exhilarating. And to answer your final question, if an amendment to a motion is before the assembly, the amendment gets voted on first, and if adopted, the changes are then incorporated into the original motion, which itself is then voted on as amended. So, even though the changes are approved by the assembly, the motion itself may still be defeated. Just FYI.

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