Elections

[Guest Dalk]

If two nominees are put forward for election and we have a 2/3 majority vote required stated in the bylaws, what happens when neither of them get the 2/3 majority? And what is the majority vote if there is no mention of that in the bylaws?

And how can voters who do not want either elected vote? in reference to page 427-20; can a voter who does not like the choices write their own choice or do they just abstain?

Thank you

Dalk

[Kim Goldsworthy]

If two nominees are put forward for election. and

if we have a 2/3 majority vote required stated in the bylaws,

then what happens when neither of them get the 2/3 majority?

What do you mean, "What happens?"

Nothing happens.

Nobody is elected.

And what is the majority vote if there is no mention of that in the bylaws?

If your bylaws had not had a "two-thirds majority" (an oxymoron), and if Robert's Rules of Order had applied, then a majority vote is more than half of votes cast by legal voters.

How can voters, who do not want either elected, vote?

They write-in an alternate name.

The voter is not limited to the pool of nominees or the pool of candidates.

in reference to page 427-20;

can a voter who does not like the choices

write their own choice, or

do they just abstain?

Yes. Either. Both options are valid options, if Robert's Rules of Order applies, and there is no other confounding rule.

[David A Foulkes]

And how can voters who do not want either elected vote? in reference to page 427-20; can a voter who does not like the choices write their own choice or do they just abstain?

Although, Dalk, it might bear noting that if a member does not want either of the candidates elected, abstaining isn't going to go very far in this regard. Abstaining is not voting, and will have no affect on the outcome. The only way to defeat a candidate is to vote for someone else.

[Josh Martin]

If two nominees are put forward for election and we have a 2/3 majority vote required stated in the bylaws, what happens when neither of them get the 2/3 majority?

The chair declares "no election" and the assembly conducts another round of balloting.

And what is the majority vote if there is no mention of that in the bylaws?

The default voting threshold for an election is a majority vote (more than half of the ballots cast by legal voters, excluding blanks and abstentions).

And how can voters who do not want either elected vote? in reference to page 427-20; can a voter who does not like the choices write their own choice or do they just abstain?

Either option is appropriate under RONR. If the member's goal is for neither candidate to be elected, however, a write-in vote will be more effective. An abstention ignored in determining whether the threshold for election was reached.