President changing result of a vote

[Guest Mark]

A the last homeowners meeting, a motion to rescind a previously approved renovation project, which was originally approved by more than the 60% of the voting members as required by the Master Deed and Bylaws, was defeated when the 'Yea' votes failed to reach 60% of the voting members. Three months later, after the minutes of the meeting were approved and published, the President modified the vote indicating that only a simple majority was need to rescind the project and that a simple majority had been reached. The reason given was that there is another statement in the By-laws indicating that "Except where otherwise previously noted..." applied to the vote to rescind.

It is my view that the same portion of the Master Deed which required 60% of the voting members to approve the project should be used to rescind it. What does RONR say about something like this? What are my next steps to correct this mistake?

[Rob Elsman]

A the last homeowners meeting, a motion to rescind a previously approved renovation project, which was originally approved by more than the 60% of the voting members as required by the Master Deed and Bylaws, was defeated when the 'Yea' votes failed to reach 60% of the voting members. Three months later, after the minutes of the meeting were approved and published, the President modified the vote indicating that only a simple majority was need to rescind the project and that a simple majority had been reached. The reason given was that there is another statement in the By-laws indicating that "Except where otherwise previously noted..." applied to the vote to rescind.

It is my view that the same portion of the Master Deed which required 60% of the voting members to approve the project should be used to rescind it. What does RONR say about something like this? What are my next steps to correct this mistake?

I don't think anyone is going to understand what you mean by "...the President modified the vote..." Could you please clarify for us exactly what that means?

[Shmuel Gerber]

A the last homeowners meeting, a motion to rescind a previously approved renovation project, which was originally approved by more than the 60% of the voting members as required by the Master Deed and Bylaws, was defeated when the 'Yea' votes failed to reach 60% of the voting members. Three months later, after the minutes of the meeting were approved and published, the President modified the vote indicating that only a simple majority was need to rescind the project and that a simple majority had been reached. The reason given was that there is another statement in the By-laws indicating that "Except where otherwise previously noted..." applied to the vote to rescind.

It is my view that the same portion of the Master Deed which required 60% of the voting members to approve the project should be used to rescind it. What does RONR say about something like this? What are my next steps to correct this mistake?

The president does not have any power to declare a different voting result than what was announced at the meeting.

As to whether the requirement of "60% of the voting members" applies to the motion to rescind, that would depend on the exact rule in question. Under the rules in RONR, an ordinary motion to rescind may be adopted by the vote of a majority of the entire membership (or by a two-thirds vote, or by a majority vote with previous notice), regardless of the vote required to adopt the motion that is to be rescinded.

[Josh Martin]

It is my view that the same portion of the Master Deed which required 60% of the voting members to approve the project should be used to rescind it.

Well, it may or may not be the case that the master deed requires a 60% vote to rescind the project, but the fact that the motion requires a higher voting threshold to adopt it does not, in and of itself, affect the voting threshold to rescind it.

What does RONR say about something like this?

In the ordinary case, a motion to Rescind requires a 2/3 vote, a vote of a majority of the entire membership, or a majority vote with previous notice. Your Bylaws and/or Master Deed may require otherwise.

More importantly for this situation, RONR says that the declaration by the chair at the meeting is final. That is, even if the chair is correct that a majority vote was sufficient to adopt the motion, it's too late for him to correct his declaration of the result three months later. (Official Interpretation 2006-18)

What are my next steps to correct this mistake?

Raise a Point of Order at the next meeting that the motion to rescind was defeated, using OI 2006-18 as backup. It seems likely the chair will rule your point not well taken, so be prepared to raise an Appeal. A majority vote is required to overturn the chair's ruling.

[Guest Mark]

I don't think anyone is going to understand what you mean by "...the President modified the vote..." Could you please clarify for us exactly what that means?