Guest Eric Posted April 11, 2011 at 12:45 PM Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 at 12:45 PM Recently, I attended a meeting where a motion was made and seconded. It then went to vote. 2 members voted "Aye", while two others voted "Nay". There was a fifth person who did not vote. That person was then questioned as to what her vote would be. She then stated "Aye". At that point, is her vote legal? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Harrison Posted April 11, 2011 at 01:06 PM Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 at 01:06 PM Recently, I attended a meeting where a motion was made and seconded. It then went to vote. 2 members voted "Aye", while two others voted "Nay". There was a fifth person who did not vote. That person was then questioned as to what her vote would be. She then stated "Aye". At that point, is her vote legal?She didn't vote to begin with. She was asked what her vote would be not what her vote is. If she had actually voted the answer would depend on whether she voted before the voting results were announced. If it was before the results were announced she could have voted. If it were after the results were announced she would need unanimous consent to add her vote (RONR p. 395). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David A Foulkes Posted April 11, 2011 at 01:29 PM Report Share Posted April 11, 2011 at 01:29 PM She didn't vote to begin with. She was asked what her vote would be not what her vote is.Well, let's not assume that we're getting a verbatim transcription of the meeting with an actual quote of the Chair, or whoever actually asked the question of the member (although, hey - it could be! - and let's hope not), and let's hope it was the Chair. I'm thinking Eric is providing us a creative writing narrative to recap what happened. Since a member may change their vote unilaterally before the results are announced, I don't initially see a problem with this. But I question the appropriateness of the procedure. The member clearly abstained at first, and to some extent the Chair (let's assume it was him/her) put undue pressure on the member to vote, essentially compelling her to cast a vote, although it was her choice to respond. I think we venture somewhat into the interruption of the voting process, which of course is a "no-no." But I also suspect that unless 244(e) is applicable here, it's too late to worry about it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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